Child Proof Fountain Pen?

[Celeste]

I will toss in my .02 here, and as always, your mileage may vary.

 

My 15 year old got his first fp last year for Christmas, loves it and has added a second one. Some days he will take a fp to school and some days he chooses to leave it home. I don't make a fuss either way.

[hardyb]

I grew up in a household of artists and was exposed to paint brushes and watercolors. My first efforts at writing were messy, as that was the medium I was given to use. I got to paint over the penciled letters and pictures my parents and their friends would put on inexpensive paper (think newsprint) to trace and I could paint my own pictures on the back or illustrate a story with a picture after I had colored in the letters. I was given free rein, had a large "paint napkin" ( torn bed sheet or towel) tied about my neck and could really make a mess. But I had to clean it up too. My uncle Willy was a Clerk of the Court and I often stayed at his house when my parents were out of town or I drove them too nuts. He was the one who taught me to use a fountain pen and explained that, like the paint brush, it would take a light touch. He would pin some newsprint to my shirt, sit me on his lap or in a chair pulled up to his work table and we would "write together". It might last two or three minutes or as long as I was interested. He showed and guided me with the various pens he had ( dip and other wise) and he let me use anything I wanted to write with when we "worked together" but if I was especially keen or had done something remarkable (like not making noise or disturbing him), he would let me use his big gold pen which was normally off limits to me. He guided my hand, hugged me when I did it right, help me "write letters" to people and when I was "old enough" (about 9 yrs) gave me my own pen to use. I used it or whatever was at hand and was encouraged, corrected or helped as necessary. It was the time we spent together and the love and encouragement of those times that I think made the difference. It was fun, creative, safe and supportive. A man who had an important job, worn a suit and was willing to take his time with me made me feel good. I never became an artist but the sense of color, the appreciation of art and the love of the form, skills, mechanics and tools of language and the written word have been a great joy to me and a treasure of unlimited value. Don't miss the opportunity to be a special someone in an 8 year old's life.

[lalindsay225]

Thank you, Hardy, for sharing that with us. It's great that your uncle took such time with you and made such happy, enduring memories. I aspire to do the same for my son.

 

Lisa

[kissing]

I got into fountain pens totally independently just last year (when I was 17 years old), strangely enough. It felt like a personal quest to find the ultimate writing instrument, as my study habits required me to write, write, write!

 

I had known about fountain pens, as they were featured in this thin encyclopedia book that I looked at over and over again, because it was beautifully illustrated ("In the Beginning").

 

The irony here is, my father had used fountain pens in his teens, and had completely converted to ballpoint pens, as the majority has. Meanwhile, his son starts using fountain pens, and he's started loving them again and has a couple of his own

 

Oops, went off topic I was originally just going to suggest Pilot Varsity (V-pen) disposable fountain pens for y our son. No mess, no filling, huge ink capacity and great quality.

[abp]

Kissing has a great idea there; try a disposable fountain pen. The other type, I don't know if you can still get them, are the Berol Fountain Pens, which were a sort of fibre tipped fountain pen thing. I think that should help teach gentle nib use without any other drawbacks...

 

abp

[strunkl]

Looks like you're getting both parenting advice/encouragement and writing instrument advice. I can't help with the former--my 18-month-old daughter will one day get a FP from her old man, but not until long after she leaves her current stage of being able to destroy Crayola markers in mere seconds! I'm reading this topic for advance advice myself.

 

As for pens, I didn't notice anyone suggest a hooded nib. I wouldn't go looking for a NOS "51", but my understanding is that there are some Chinese manufacturers making very inexpensive clones that write rather well.

 

One stray thought: When my mother was a little girl, her mother gave her a dilapidated-looking doll, telling my mother that the doll had belonged to her grandmother, and that my mother would be the third generation to play with it. My mother treated it with reverence and care. In fact, the doll was a flea market find, and the story was simply added to give my mom some incentive to show care and responsibility. Consider whether fibbing to your child is something you want to do, but it certainly worked out well for my mother.

 

Best of luck. I'm enjoying thinking about one day sharing a FP with my little girl--thanks!

[nluoma]

Thanks so much for all the great ideas!

I do let him pick the pen he wants to use--in fact he was the one who originally asked to use the fountain pens. And actually seemed to enjoy writing with it (a first for him as we had to fight to get him to write at all last year during school.) However, the ink issue seems to be bothering him. (Though it's possible his sister made fun of him.)

I've already put several of your ideas into effect, starting with telling him that I get ink on me sometimes, too. (Which totally shocked him. He thought he was the only one.) Then, we talked about how the pens work and what parts he can and shouldn't touch. He's also very excited that so many people are interested in helping him out. He found it hard to believe that so many other people like cool pens (his words, not mine) just like he does.

[Ghost Plane]

It's a secret club!

[Viseguy]

Switch him to a dip pen. The FP will look neat by comparison! :roflmho: But seriously ... it may be a simple matter of teaching him to put the cap on when he's not actually writing.

[Sakura]

My daughter (also 8 years old) is very interested in fountain pens, but was frustrated because the one we bought her skips horribly, which disturbs both her writing and her thoughts.

 

Just today I bought her a Lamy "Smile" pen, and she's very happy with it. I don't think you can find those in the States, but online there should be many sources. This is what I love about Europe, there are lots of inexpensive pens to play around with.

 

A picture and information is here.

 

 

It doesn't look at all like the Safari to me, I considered getting her a Safari. It seems a little wider, shorter, and has a comfortable rubber grip that is wider than the Safari's, I tested myself. My daughter's writing with it right now. She reports no more skipping, and she feels a big difference. The steel nib isn't matte black...I have no idea if that changes writing quality.

 

I think it was about $5-7 cheaper than the Safari, and there's not as much of a colour choice, but the cap features three bands with wingding-type icons on them that you can turn like a combination lock. It's a gender-neutral pen; I even thought it would be to masculine for her tastes but she chose it over the Safari.

 

Too bad I've never seen them in the States...I think the kids would eat them up.