2020 - my year in pens. How was yours?

[TheDutchGuy]

A tough year, but family, friends, colleagues and hobbies such as fountain pens helped me to get through it. Here are some discoveries, surprises, disappointments and favourites from 2020.

 

Disappointment - re-learning how to write, following complications after a medical procedure. I’m stubborn as a mule, so I got it done. Still, I need to work every day at keeping my hand and arm relaxed and at legibility. Some days, the stars align and I’m writing without thinking. Other days, I want to drop an anvil on my pens.

 

Disappointment - Sailor Souboku. Finally got around to trying this, but it fails to inspire me.

 

Discovery - my Visconti HS Lava Bronze loves Sailor Jentle Blue (and so do I). The pen’s performance jumped from good to phenomenal. Wet but still with quick drying times, great shading, some nice red sheen and very sensitive to subtle pressure differences.

 

Discovery - at some point I realised that all of my vintage pens are nicer to write with than any of my modern pens. The 14k nibs of those days... they just don’t make ‘em like that any more. The softness, the line variation, the ebonite feeds... just wow. These nibs somehow seem to say: “hey, I know what you want, I can do that for you.” And for the record, most of my old pens were entry-level when they were sold in the 40s and 50s, aimed at students and such, with very small 14k nibs, made by obscure brands.

 

Surprise - tried a Pilot H91 at Appelboom. Loved the F nib but not the pen, so they kindly put it into a translucent smoke C74. Bought it, put iroshizuku shin-kai in it, and it quickly became my favourite modern pen. Comfortable, durable, relatively affordable, beautiful and with a smoking Japanese Fine nib that puts down a hyperfine like yet is smooth, wet and tactile. Deeply impressed.

 

Surprise - Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and Edelstein Moonstone are actually very nice inks!

 

Some favourites, not necessarily newly acquired this year by the way. Didn’t buy much this year.

 

Favourite modern pens*

1. Pilot Custom 74 F 14k
2. Visconti Homo Sapiens Lava Bronze F 18k
3. Fine Writing Bronze Age with fpnibs.com EF 14k soft Jowo bi-colour nib with cutouts

Runner-ups: Leonardo Furore EF, Sailor Pro Gear Slim F, Visconti Homo Sapiens Midi Lava Steel F 23k Pd

 

Favourite vintage pens*

1. MB 146 EF with stock architect grind nib
2. 1947 DeLaRue with needlepoint semi-flex accountant’s nib
3. Mid-50s Ero piston filler with small 14k semi-flex F nib and double-slit ebonite feed

Runner-ups: a lovely Esterbrook SJ with 9550 nib, Pelikan M800 with custom-ground fine italic, 1947 Parker Vacumatic Jr needlepoint flex

 

Favourite inks*

1. Sailor Jentle Blue (just called Sailor Blue these days)
2. Sailor kiwaguro
3. Iroshizuku shin-kai

Runner-ups: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, Montblanc Chinese Blue, Waterman Mysterious Blue

 

Wishlist*

1. Montblanc 149 Calligraphy
2. Lamy CP1 with 14k Z57 nib
3. ?

 

*But ask me again next week!

 

So what was your pen year like? 🤔

Edited December 25, 2020 by TheDutchGuy
Typos corrected

[Wolverine1]

DutchGuy, thank you for  posting. I, too, have to struggle with the after-effects of a bunch of serious strokes, and that has made the process of handwriting with a fountainpen sort of difficult. But, like you, I continue to persevere.

 

So, in 2020, the only pen I purchased was a 1995 NOS  MB149  fp from my friend Barry Gabay, who is also a FPN member. I love writing with the MB149 with a fine nib.

 

I am going to cull my collection and will invest the proceeds and but a couple more MB 149s. I have found that given my medical problems, the MB149 is the pen which happens to by just the right size for me.

 

-Sid

[inkstainedruth]

Very interesting considerations, DutchGuy.  While I don't always agree with what you like/don't like (everyone has different tastes -- but that's what makes FPN interesting), I admire your perserverence and with having the insight to figure out what you want and don't want moving forward.

All the best for 2021 (although admittedly, after 2020, that's not much of a hurdle).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Estycollector]

Like Ruth, I admire your perseverance. I pretty much started vintage and have deviated. 
 

I got over the MB 149 in the early ‘90’s, but all paths don’t progress the same , but perhaps similar conclusions 

[ENewton]

I don't buy pens (or anything else other than groceries and books) very frequently, but this year I bought two pens, both very satisfying to me:

• I bought one modern pen, the Sailor Wicked Witch of the West 1911S M.  I had long been sure I wanted a Sailor pen with a medium nib but was determined to wait until I could get one in a dark, or fairly dark, purple color.  I already had the Purple Cosmos and didn't want a second.  When the Wicked Witch was announced, I ordered it right away.  Sure enough, I love the pen, even more than some of my vintage pens.  It is almost always inked.
• I bought one vintage pen, a Shaeffer Tuckaway Deluxe.  I have always liked the look of such pens, but they don't come in purple, so I hesitated to buy one.  I finally bought a dark brown one in excellent condition.  It has a very nice fine nib.

I am sorry that you have to work so hard to write comfortably and legibly.  I hope that, by a year from now, the stars will align for you every day.  

[TheDutchGuy]

12 hours ago, Wolverine1 said:

I have found that given my medical problems, the MB149 is the pen which happens to by just the right size for me.

 

Hopefully you’ll make a full recovery! Good to hear you’ve found a way to stay in the hobby. I wish that there was one pen that always ‘works’ for me, like your MB149. Instead, every day I need to look for a pen that my hand likes on that particular day. Write on!

 

10 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

everyone has different tastes -- but that's what makes FPN interesting

 

+1! FPN wouldn’t be worth visiting if everyone felt the same. Almost all of pen my pen discoveries originated here on FPN. Even as recent as this week, the femine pen thread made me want to try a Lamy CP1. I’ll hunt one down after Christmas (thank you, Dill!).

 

4 hours ago, ENewton said:

...this year I bought two pens, both very satisfying to me...

 

...am sorry that you have to work so hard to write comfortably and legibly.  I hope that, by a year from now, the stars will align for you every day.  

 

Thank you for your kind wishes! And congrats on your two pen acquisitions - great choices IMHO. Glad to hear you’re enjoying them!

[inkstainedruth]

15 hours ago, ENewton said:

I don't buy pens (or anything else other than groceries and books) very frequently, but this year I bought two pens, both very satisfying to me:

• I bought one modern pen, the Sailor Wicked Witch of the West 1911S M.  I had long been sure I wanted a Sailor pen with a medium nib but was determined to wait until I could get one in a dark, or fairly dark, purple color.  I already had the Purple Cosmos and didn't want a second.  When the Wicked Witch was announced, I ordered it right away.  Sure enough, I love the pen, even more than some of my vintage pens.  It is almost always inked.
• I bought one vintage pen, a Shaeffer Tuckaway Deluxe.  I have always liked the look of such pens, but they don't come in purple, so I hesitated to buy one.  I finally bought a dark brown one in excellent condition.  It has a very nice fine nib.

I am sorry that you have to work so hard to write comfortably and legibly.  I hope that, by a year from now, the stars will align for you every day.  

I have looked at the Wicked Witch pen (got to see it in September when I was in Bromfield's up in Boston).  To me it seems more dark indigo than purple.  And at the moment I can't really afford it or the 1911S Loch Ness Monster, which I think I prefer the color of.  Although an Oz-themed pen is just really calling my name for a whole lot of reasons.  Admittedly, it would have perhaps been more appropriate if it had been "Winkie" yellow (in the books, purple was the color for the Gillikans and the Good Witch of the North); or at the very least the color of the makeup they used on Margaret Hamilton in the old MGM movie...).  

Yes, I'm definitely a geek....

Now wondering if I should go work for my husband's sideline business this year (the one event he now does has been pushed back to October and he and his partner are now weighing the options of whether they can run a food booth "safely" -- and if enough people will have access to the vaccine by then); and if I do, whether either the Wicked Witch pen or the Loch Ness Monster pen will still be available by then....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amk]

Because of Covid, very little chance to go hunting pens in the wild. It was a year when I mended a lot of pens, did some nib swapping, and played with grinding some cheap nibs.

 

I bought fewer, but more expensive, pens: notably three Edison Colliers (blue juniper and the two Diamondcast limited editions) and some beautiful Kullock and Bexley custom 51s.

 

Wish list: the Red tortoise m600 and the gold marble m200, and for Pelikan not to issue any more temptations for the time being, please 🙂

 

 

[sgphototn]

Several things good for me. Eliminated about 20-25 inks down to about 7-8 I really like and use. 

 

Purchased a Pelikan M1000, Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian, and many nice ebonites.

 

Gave away at least 12 pens because I either don't use them or don't like them and inks to go with them. 

 

Bought a couple of Lambrou books.

 

Stopped looking for new papers to use. Clairefontaine, Tomoe, and Black-n-Red offer me everything I need.

 

Decided that in 2021 to continue to add custom and vintage pens, pens that use #8 nibs, more ebonites, and not buy any more acrylics.

 

Everything subject to change.

[AmandaW]

Well my year in pen is ending on a really high note (in spite of the Loom unboxed on Christmas Day that's too slippery to be comfortable - I think it's cos my skin is too dry - isn't everyone's like that this year?).  Whatever. Pens and inks and FPN have kept me sane this year. Thankyou. And now it's unexpected  bonus time.

 

In 2017 I bought a Pilot Falcon with a SF nib and was immediately disappointed with it - the line it produced was more like a B under the very lightest hand. Maybe Lexington Grey was too wet, so I tried Pilot Black. No better. Nothing wrong with the nib under a loupe either. I cleaned it out and put it away. In April this year I caved and ordered another with a SEF nib and was delighted with it. (See the difference in the left pic photographed months ago). Today I decided to try a drier ink in the SF and discovered while cleaning it that the con70 converter didn't work, no amount of pumping would get it to pull up water - the stopper is flopping around loose. Whatever, jinxed pen. I popped in a Pilot Black cartridge and, surprise surprise, the nib is now working flawlessly - the beautiful SF I expected in 2017. Moral of the story: a nib not writing correctly may be the fault of the converter.

 

 

Actually 2017 really wasn't my year because I didn't order the Pelikan Smoky Quartz while it was available - I wanted to but, for some reason I cannot now recall, didn't (maybe that was about the time my Mum had a fall and my life was turned upside down). Anyway right now I'm watching the tracking because there's one in the post! With the matching ink.

 

 

 

[TheDutchGuy]

15 hours ago, amk said:

...Because of Covid, very little chance to go hunting pens in the wild...

...I bought fewer, but more expensive, pens: notably three Edison Colliers (blue juniper and the two Diamondcast limited editions) and some beautiful Kullock and Bexley custom 51s...

 

Not being able to visit pen shows and such is a drag, I miss that! Congrats on your new acquisitions. I have to admit not being familiar with these pens, so I’ll look them up and learn something.

 

14 hours ago, sgphototn said:

Gave away at least 12 pens because I either don't use them or don't like them and inks to go with them. 

 

Seeing others being happy with pens I gave them is a joy. Sensing what will work for someone (and what won’t) is also a lot of fun.

 

34 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Pens and inks and FPN have kept me sane this year. Thankyou.

 

+1!

 

35 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

the con70 converter didn't work, no amount of pumping would get it to pull up water

 

Three out of my four CON70’s don’t work. The remaining one _does_ work and is a joy to use. It’s an interesting design but terribly inconsistent. Glad to hear you’re now enjoying your Falcon SF!

 

 

 

 

[peroride]

On 12/25/2020 at 9:44 AM, TheDutchGuy said:

So what was your pen year like? 🤔

😱 Can't believe it all adds up...

 

Thank you @TheDutchGuy for this fun and painful look back 🤓

 

I dislike this new corporate word I learned, "Touchpoints", but it's adequately descriptive

 

Best pen

• Gifted custom Nakaya to my better half coming just in time before her birthday. Nakayas are a girl's best friend, at least this particular one.💅

Various touchpoints

• Ink:
  • Near half liter of Noodler's Proctor's Ledge - it's moody dark, memorable and permanent. 🖤 nuff said.
  • Iron Galls: KWZ and Platinum Classic series, all in. They are not as scary as I thought. If the pen has a gold nib, it will smell like vanilla.😆
• Modern:
  • Heavy Platinum, been a Sailor > Pilot fan now filling a big hole on the last Japanese big 3 with 3776 UEF and Curidas as highlights
  • Conid Pen: Kingsize engraved, finally landed. Jonas is a wizard and he can do more than ASCII, if patient.
  • PenBBS: what was i thinking. 😵 Good pens but the idea is lateral or up, not down. Frankenpen fails.
  • Monty Winnfield: Jeremiah is on a whole different level/planet 👽
  • Karas Pen Co: Vertex Kingfisher, i like pretty bulletproof birds that eyedrop.
  • Pelikan: who doesn't like steel nibbed Moonstones?
  • Scribo: yes, 14K fine flex does deliver the favorite Feels 🥰 but does not trump vintage Waterman 52 or 5
  • Pilot Parallel:🥳⭐ a sheer revelation, the one shining light of 2020, frankenpenned with Opus 88
• Vintage: Sheaffer Balance - never knew what the big deal was, then a few classifieds later, ohh! Missus says, I have too many cow pens (black and pearl) Posted or not, sweet balance. You heard of shoe lasts? Sheaffer had great fitting pen lasts and the nib is a fine workhorse.

2021 and beyond

• Note to self: Cease and desist ☢️

[Tasmith]

Didn't buy a whole lot in 2020, but discovered how much I like Platinum Pigmented Blue ink.  Permanent and very well behaved in all pens I tested it in, even my fussy MB-146.  Been using it in my MB-146 with a .56mm crisp italic since June.  The pen sat idol for a few years after it got clogged with MB Permanent Blue and took ages to get cleaned out and working again.

 

Purchased a Platinum Prefounte and couldn't be more pleased with it.  Inexpensive, looks nice and writes wonderfully with a Preppy extra fine 02 nib.  Has taken over the EDC daily writer duties from my Wing Sung 698.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I bought quite a few pens this year, actually, but most of them were disposable (shudder) drawing pens.  Copic Multiliners, Sakura Pigma Microns, that kind of thing.  I actually do have a refillable Rapidograph set, but have been putting off inking them while I try to figure out what I'm doing with drawing in ink.  Although I have done some drawings with my finer nibbed fountain pens.  And that means that I am keeping at least one fine or extra fine FP inked at all times, where I had been leaning toward medium.

 

I did get two fountain pens, though.  One was a Faber Castell Neo, not a bad pen, but I really got it only because I had no pens from that maker, not the best reason.  It probably won't get used all that much.  But I also got an apparently NOS Parker 180, and like it quite a bit, with its unique looking "broad-fine" nib.  Currently inked with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng, a nice purple that I'd put aside a few years ago as being too cloggy.  I decided to give it another shot with this pen, and so far it's working out quite well.

 

I've bought several varieties of De Atramentis Document inks, Brown, Purple, Blue, Fog Grey.  Really like that last one, which I see as subtly blue.

 

Other than that, just writing a bit every day, mostly in my journal; an actual project is pretty much on hold, although I prefer not to think of it as being abandoned.  Drawing every day, pencils, ink, charcoal.  I don't want to over-dramatize the toughness of the year for me, as I think that I would have done many of the same things anyway, except for a little extra travel.  Apart from the various inconveniences of dealing with the pandemic, my family and closest friends have been relatively untouched.  Many are worse off.  But in any year, experimenting with new things, whatever they are (not just buying "stuff") helps keep us fresh.

[TheDutchGuy]

5 hours ago, peroride said:

Thank you for this fun and painful look back...

 

Thanks for sharing! You appear to have been busy this year!

 

5 hours ago, peroride said:

...Near half liter of Noodler's Proctor's Ledge - it's moody dark, memorable and permanent. 🖤 nuff said...

 

😳 That’s got to be a record!

 

5 hours ago, peroride said:

...Sheaffer Balance - never knew what the big deal was, then a few classifieds later, ohh!...

 

Very high-quality pens for sure, but somehow my hand won’t be friends with mine. There’s something about its dimensions that doesn’t quite suit me. Nevertheless I cherish it, because it’s a great pen. Mine was made around 1936 and it’s still as good as new.

 

1 hour ago, Tasmith said:

...discovered how much I like Platinum Pigmented Blue ink...

 

For a long time I’ve been fond of Platinum Blue Black, which sadly can only be obtained in Europe in cartridges. Fantastic ink, wish I could use it more!

[ENewton]

20 hours ago, sgphototn said:

 

 

Gave away at least 12 pens because I either don't use them or don't like them and inks to go with them. 

 

 

I also had the chance to give away some pens and inks, to a relative who had lost everything other than her walker, a pair of jeans, and a sweatshirt to fire.  When I spoke with her after she lost her home, she was so caught up in things she needed to do to reconstruct her life that I wanted to entice her to spend at least some time every day enjoying herself.  All the pens had nibs broader than are practical for me.  The inks were good ones in colors for which I no longer have use, now that I have retired.  

[TheDutchGuy]

20 minutes ago, ISW_Kaputnik said:

I've bought several varieties of De Atramentis Document inks, Brown, Purple, Blue, Fog Grey.

 

So far I’ve never tried De Atramantis. Will do so in 2021, thanks for the reminder!

[rkesey]

A bunch of things (quite good and quite bad) coincided to make this a year of many new (though all but one pre-owned) pens for me: 

- Just before the pandemic reached us, 2 BBSpens with stub nibs that are fun, but rattly--I'll be passing them on soon;

- As the world started to seize up, a Parker 45 Flighter Deluxe that writes very smoothly, though I don't find myself reaching for it often;

- It took several months to arrive when the world's postal services went sideways, but at in the end a NIB Sailor Fude de Mannen that I love a little too much;

- A painful release of sorts meant that I wanted to buy something that would symbolize the stability I'd finally found, and I chose one I'd wanted for a very long time, a stub Visconti Divina Desert Springs;

- And that was going to be it for me... but then I saw a fellow FPN member helping to sell someone else's collection, and it had an Omas Colombo II...

- And *that* was definitely going to be it for me, but then I saw a weirdly mislabeled pen quite cheap at auction, and took a flier, and it's a NIB Pilot VP, a pen I'd always thought I wouldn't like as much as other people do, but boy, I reach for it every day. 

 

And THAT was definitely it for me, except now I need some new inks, so last night I visited Birmingham Pen Co., as I'd never tried their ink but had heard good things...

[rkesey]

On 12/25/2020 at 12:44 PM, TheDutchGuy said:

A tough year, but family, friends, colleagues and hobbies such as fountain pens helped me to get through it. Here are some discoveries, surprises, disappointments and favourites from 2020.

 

Disappointment - re-learning how to write, following complications after a medical procedure. I’m stubborn as a mule, so I got it done. Still, I need to work every day at keeping my hand and arm relaxed and at legibility. Some days, the stars align and I’m writing without thinking. Other days, I want to drop an anvil on my pens.

 

Disappointment - Sailor Souboku. Finally got around to trying this, but it fails to inspire me.

 

Discovery - my Visconti HS Lava Bronze loves Sailor Jentle Blue (and so do I). The pen’s performance jumped from good to phenomenal. Wet but still with quick drying times, great shading, some nice red sheen and very sensitive to subtle pressure differences.

 

Discovery - at some point I realised that all of my vintage pens are nicer to write with than any of my modern pens. The 14k nibs of those days... they just don’t make ‘em like that any more. The softness, the line variation, the ebonite feeds... just wow. These nibs somehow seem to say: “hey, I know what you want, I can do that for you.” And for the record, most of my old pens were entry-level when they were sold in the 40s and 50s, aimed at students and such, with very small 14k nibs, made by obscure brands.

 

Surprise - tried a Pilot H91 at Appelboom. Loved the F nib but not the pen, so they kindly put it into a translucent smoke C74. Bought it, put iroshizuku shin-kai in it, and it quickly became my favourite modern pen. Comfortable, durable, relatively affordable, beautiful and with a smoking Japanese Fine nib that puts down a hyperfine like yet is smooth, wet and tactile. Deeply impressed.

 

Surprise - Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and Edelstein Moonstone are actually very nice inks!

 

Some favourites, not necessarily newly acquired this year by the way. Didn’t buy much this year.

 

Favourite modern pens*

1. Pilot Custom 74 F 14k
2. Visconti Homo Sapiens Lava Bronze F 18k
3. Fine Writing Bronze Age with fpnibs.com EF 14k soft Jowo bi-colour nib with cutouts

Runner-ups: Leonardo Furore EF, Sailor Pro Gear Slim F, Visconti Homo Sapiens Midi Lava Steel F 23k Pd

 

Favourite vintage pens*

1. MB 146 EF with stock architect grind nib
2. 1947 DeLaRue with needlepoint semi-flex accountant’s nib
3. Mid-50s Ero piston filler with small 14k semi-flex F nib and double-slit ebonite feed

Runner-ups: a lovely Esterbrook SJ with 9550 nib, Pelikan M800 with custom-ground fine italic, 1947 Parker Vacumatic Jr needlepoint flex

 

Favourite inks*

1. Sailor Jentle Blue (just called Sailor Blue these days)
2. Sailor kiwaguro
3. Iroshizuku shin-kai

Runner-ups: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, Montblanc Chinese Blue, Waterman Mysterious Blue

 

Wishlist*

1. Montblanc 149 Calligraphy
2. Lamy CP1 with 14k Z57 nib
3. ?

 

*But ask me again next week!

 

So what was your pen year like? 🤔

 

On 12/25/2020 at 12:44 PM, TheDutchGuy said:

A tough year, but family, friends, colleagues and hobbies such as fountain pens helped me to get through it. Here are some discoveries, surprises, disappointments and favourites from 2020.

 

Disappointment - re-learning how to write, following complications after a medical procedure. I’m stubborn as a mule, so I got it done. Still, I need to work every day at keeping my hand and arm relaxed and at legibility. Some days, the stars align and I’m writing without thinking. Other days, I want to drop an anvil on my pens.

 

Disappointment - Sailor Souboku. Finally got around to trying this, but it fails to inspire me.

 

Discovery - my Visconti HS Lava Bronze loves Sailor Jentle Blue (and so do I). The pen’s performance jumped from good to phenomenal. Wet but still with quick drying times, great shading, some nice red sheen and very sensitive to subtle pressure differences.

 

Discovery - at some point I realised that all of my vintage pens are nicer to write with than any of my modern pens. The 14k nibs of those days... they just don’t make ‘em like that any more. The softness, the line variation, the ebonite feeds... just wow. These nibs somehow seem to say: “hey, I know what you want, I can do that for you.” And for the record, most of my old pens were entry-level when they were sold in the 40s and 50s, aimed at students and such, with very small 14k nibs, made by obscure brands.

 

Surprise - tried a Pilot H91 at Appelboom. Loved the F nib but not the pen, so they kindly put it into a translucent smoke C74. Bought it, put iroshizuku shin-kai in it, and it quickly became my favourite modern pen. Comfortable, durable, relatively affordable, beautiful and with a smoking Japanese Fine nib that puts down a hyperfine like yet is smooth, wet and tactile. Deeply impressed.

 

Surprise - Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and Edelstein Moonstone are actually very nice inks!

 

Some favourites, not necessarily newly acquired this year by the way. Didn’t buy much this year.

 

Favourite modern pens*

1. Pilot Custom 74 F 14k
2. Visconti Homo Sapiens Lava Bronze F 18k
3. Fine Writing Bronze Age with fpnibs.com EF 14k soft Jowo bi-colour nib with cutouts

Runner-ups: Leonardo Furore EF, Sailor Pro Gear Slim F, Visconti Homo Sapiens Midi Lava Steel F 23k Pd

 

Favourite vintage pens*

1. MB 146 EF with stock architect grind nib
2. 1947 DeLaRue with needlepoint semi-flex accountant’s nib
3. Mid-50s Ero piston filler with small 14k semi-flex F nib and double-slit ebonite feed

Runner-ups: a lovely Esterbrook SJ with 9550 nib, Pelikan M800 with custom-ground fine italic, 1947 Parker Vacumatic Jr needlepoint flex

 

Favourite inks*

1. Sailor Jentle Blue (just called Sailor Blue these days)
2. Sailor kiwaguro
3. Iroshizuku shin-kai

Runner-ups: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, Montblanc Chinese Blue, Waterman Mysterious Blue

 

Wishlist*

1. Montblanc 149 Calligraphy
2. Lamy CP1 with 14k Z57 nib
3. ?

 

*But ask me again next week!

 

So what was your pen year like? 🤔

A great run down! I'll need to think through a few of the surprises I found along the way.

[sandy101]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/gallery/image/1898-img_20201229_225900651jpg/

 

So, this year I bought 4 fountain pens. 

 

My birthday pen this year was a Cross Peerless 125 (top) in the gold trim. The Sailor nib it came with writes beautifully. I like the pen, and the fact that it posts makes it a good candidate for everyday carry. 

 

The last pen was next year's birthday pen - a Nakaya  portable Midori with a broad nib. I ordered it expecting it to take 6 months to arrive - instead it shipped in 6 weeeks, so it arrived for Xmas instead. It is a pretty pen and is a good writer.

 

A Visconti Van Gough - Wheatfield under Thunderclouds with a fine nib. I bought it from The Writing Desk in the UK. The pen is rather pretty - and the Writing Desk tuned/tested the nib before sending it out (at no extra charge0. I don't know what they did withit - but this is one of the best writers in my collection. It is a comfortable, wet writer - and is rather smoth - for a fine nib. 

 

It contrast with the Wheatfield with Crows -  another beautiful pen, with a medium nib. This came from another seller - and it has taken a bit of time to get it to write well. I changed the ink, and the paper and clened it out several times - and now it is writing much better. Not sure if it was paper fibres clogging the nib, ink or what, but it is writing better now.

 

My everyday carry is the same as what is was last year - I've kept a Parker Sonnet Stratum - biro & fp in a case. It's been my EDC for over a year now. Parker Quink seems to be a fairly universal ink. I can use it on moleskine, 70 gsm paper and so on without lots of feathering and bleeding. As a "road" pen it gets used everyday, and I can keep spare cartridges in my wallet. Having one pen, also means my EDC notebooks suit the pen as well.

 

I participated in NaNoWri mo this year, and decided to used a whole lot of A5 sheets of paper. I have six or seven inked pens on the desk - and wrote with them.   I used a blend of William Hannah, Atoma and WHSmiths paper. The WHSmiths is 70gsm cheap, stationery store paper - and for drafting it works rather well with drier inks (Quink, Platinum, Cross, S T Dupont). I hit 25,000 words this year and I'm still going. 

 

Since I'm writing lots of prose, I'm finding that I'm using more blue, back or blue/black inks. Colours are used for editing and letters and postcards.

 

I went to the London Pen Show in March - my third visit and was again overwhelmed by the amount of stuff on sale there. I went looking for a fancy Visconti, but couldn't find one within my price range. I bought a Parker 51 ballpoint to match my Parker 51 fountain pen. I'm a sucker for matching sets. 

 

I''ve taken a couple of writing classes on MasterClass and tryig to redraft 2 1/2 novels. I'm finding my focus has changed to spending the time sitting and writing with the pens I have, rather than spending a huge amount of time looking for new pens. There are some thay are not getting much use anymore - and I'm thinking I might want to sell them on, but that will have to wait till Spring. 

 

So, the resolution for next year is to continue writing, and spend less time shopping and tinkering with repairs./vintage stuff. If the pen works and  can produce a consistent line for 1,000 words then that's what I want.