Warm Salutations from Cold Toronto

[AL2026]

Hello friends, I'm joining from Toronto.

 

Relatively new to the world of fountain pens. The bug's bite was gentle, but the venom is spreading!

 

Best wishes. 

[OCArt]

[Wahl]

[inkstainedruth]

@AL2026 Greetings from Pittsburgh, PA!  

I was in Toronto a few years ago for a conference for my other hobby, but made a special pilgrimage to Wonder Pens, and had a lovely chat with the guy behind the counter and bought a bottle of ink that was made specifically for the Canadian market: Noodler's Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham.

I generally suggest that new folks here click on the "New Content" button when they log in (you can adjust how much/often it refreshes), to get a good overview of a range of topics.  And to NOT do what I did when I started here, which was to read the Parker Forum.  ALL of it (back then, over a decade ago, it was 175 PAGES of threads -- it's MUCH larger now).  And to check out the pinned Index to the Ink Reviews (even though some old images were lost in the Great Photobucket Hijack a few years ago).  Because I'm convinced we live in the Golden Age of Inks, with new companies popping up all over the globe.

But I also warn people that they have found themselves amongst a den of enablers, who will happily help you spend your discretionary budget on pens, inks, paper, desk accessories, repair stuff, ephemera and pen shows....

So, what was your gateway pen?  Mine was a Parker Reflex (which turned out to be sort of junk, and the rubberized grip disintigrated; same thing happened with the replacement one.  And I couldn't find them then at Staples.  So went online to Parker's website and found a place in Pittsburgh that was at the time an authorized Parker dealer and bought a Parker Vector (I felt SOOOOO extravagant -- I'd paid NINE DOLLARS just for a pen; little did I know... ).  And then when I accidentally left it at my in-laws' house one January, along with my journal (I was ONLY using it for journalling back then) and didn't get it back for a month, I wasn't able to easily get a replacement.  So ended up going back online, and found the Goulet Pens website and also found my way here.  And it's been straight downhill ever since.

Have fun here, and remember that the only dumb questions are the ones which don't get asked.  I'm constantly amazed by the wealth of knowledge (and not just pen-related) here, and the generosity of the people here in the sharing of that knowledge.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mark from Yorkshire]

A warm welcome from Yorkshire UK.

 

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN! So glad to have you join us!

[Bisquitlips]

[Misfit]

Welcome to the community. There are lots of people willing to help with questions, so feel free to ask for help with questions and how to navigate this forum. 

[AL2026]

Many thanks all!

 

 

[I am not a number]

Welcome!