What type of people use fountain pens?

[TrevorML]

Bachelor of Arts (double major in Anthropology)

Bachelor of Architecture... went into this straight from the BA... worked as a freelance designer and contract draughtsperson for some years

worked as a professional typesetter for a couple of printers

Senior Desktop Publisher for a university... still there now after 10 years but now involved in student administration... currently and Information Systems Administrator

 

always loathed ball points ever since high school... got the FP bug when given a Parker 45 as xmas present... early married life came across vintage Conway Stewarts and some Conklin Enduras for what now would be for bargain basement prices... now at around 250+ mainly vintage FP's

 

just simply love the attention to detail... the materials... how the write... the rituals involved with filling (esp ED's and safety's)... the these days non-mainstream nature of FP's... and especially the environmentally friendliness of FPs... something I realised way back in the late 70's

 

and of course the great folks into FP's!!!

[giuli8p]

I'm a law student, but i'm far from use my FP for my job

I like some kind of "artistic writing" as a hobby and the collectible side of FP.

[seymour]

Hi

 

I run a catalog department in a university library.

 

I have been using fountain pens since I was a pupil in the 1950s.

 

My work is computer intensive and like others, I am looking for the pleasure of a pen not designed for obsolescence. I like a pen which is esthetically pleasing and also a pleasure to write with

 

Chaim

[merzig]

I'm an architect and graphic designer.

 

I use fountain pens because I got fed up with throwing pens out, and they write so much better than everything else out there.

[MiniMaupassant]

I work in business development/marketing, so there is a creative/writing connection there, but I have also found that a lot of my colleagues (I work in construction) also use FPs, so perhaps it's an industry thing... However, my colleagues don't also have a huge selection of ink bottles sitting on their desks!

Apart from work, I also like to record my thoughts/ideas/stuff to remember in a note book and I find it's a much more delicious experience if I use a FP....

[DerMann]

Graduated from highschool this year, after a solid year of fountain pen use.

 

Half way through highschool I started to enjoy vintage things more often, e.g. style, pens, watches. Also became an Anglophile in the process. I enjoy the fact that a fountain pen, as opposed to a BP or even a RB, is meant to last a lifetime (or more?), and were constructed in a time where quality was valued much higher. Fountain pens are just more fun to use than dreary BPs. When I used to uncap a BP I'd think, "Oh great, I have to take notes now." Now when I unscrew my fountain pens, I think,"I finally get to put my <insert pen in hand> to use! Let's see how <specific ink> works out." Fountain pens add a little bit of fun and pleasure to normally menial tasks.

 

 

I'll be majoring in history at a tiny liberal arts college in Indiana this year. Right now I actually work as a graphic designer for the company my Aunt works for (an educational non-profit organisation), which entails creating math worksheets on the computer. It pays well and I might be able to keep it through college.

 

My penmanship is pretty much awful, although my cursive/script is getting a little better (as I am using it more often, more so than printing). I don't journal, although I might start. During highschool, we were forced to "journal" in English over books we were reading, and I never enjoyed that. I can't draw worth a thing unless I have the subject in front of me and plenty of time. Quite a few of my friends are artists (many of them very skilled), and my first girlfriend drew webcomics (she actually though fountain pens were silly and obsolete :\). I own an dSLR camera and a matching bellows unit. However, I don't consider myself an artist. During highschool, I took two photography classes and I never enjoyed other people's "work" as most of it was just a manipulation of the colour in photoshop. My photos are much more utilitarian, almost, and rely immensely on interesting patterns that the subject has, e.g. grooves on LP, chasing on hard rubber, or the herringbone on a tweed jacket.

Edited July 20, 2008 by DerMann

[Souldrifter]

I'm a QA Engineer by day, testing and deploying .NET web pages and applications for an e-commerce company. But, that's just my job. It's not who I am.

 

I've been writing, though not with as much discipline as I should, since I was in high school. We're talking over two decades here since then. I also practiced calligraphy back then, but fell out of it for quite some time. I just recently picked it up.

 

Fountain pens are elegant and full of history. When I'm not bogged down by the day to dayness of the world (gas prices, paying bills, broken trash bag, doing laundry...) I tend to have a rather romantic view of the world, I think. I love certain periods of history, and I love my vintage pens. I often wonder how many hands the pens I now possess have passed through, what kind of people they were, what they did for a living... and what they did for pleasure.

 

My next goal is to get my hands on a 1944 or older Parker 51. And then something from the 20s or 30s. There used to be a day when fountain pens were an absolute must, a tool that everyone had to carry by necessity... I guess the closest approximation today would be the mobile phone. Anyway, if these pens were good for those people decades ago, they're good enough for me, and I can use any of a multitude of hues for my ink, making my written word stand out amongst the sterile ascii of the dominant computer type.

 

And, really, fountain pens are just classy.

[rogerb]

Retired from being, among other things, an Air Force navigator, a programmer(Ugh!), and a management-skills/life-skills trainer.

[AfterMyNap]

My first fountain pen was issued to me in the first grade, it was with that Parker 21 that I learned to write (I still have it). Throughout my youth, I held a fascination for and love of FPs but was not an avid user as I was seduced by all the new ballpoints that were introduced in the 1970s. FPs would return to my mind in regular intervals and I always had one inked even if lying alone in a drawer.

 

My career as a marketing research analyst came to an abrupt, early end when, at 34, I became disabled with multiple sclerosis. I am educated (I have the receipts on my wall to prove it) and had done a lot of writing for my profession.

 

Demographically, socio-economically, I am now an authentic bottom-feeder. My passions have always been outdoors, wading and flyfishing mountain streams, climbing and camping those mountains, skiing them, and multiple other physical activities. Funny how life throws those curves. My new athletic/physical challenges include dressing myself and rising from a toilet! I have the balance of a one-legged toddler, can trip over a Cheerio, and the deplorable penmanship of a young, budding serial killer.

 

But, I write. I love writing for the sake of writing, for the smell, the sensation, the color, the texture, and the vision. My current Moleskine is nearly filled with an ongoing dialogue between FPs vying for the position of my favorite. They each have a vanity which surpasses that of even the most pompous, disagreeable potentate.

Edited July 20, 2008 by AfterMyNap

[Siv]

11 years as a risk management consultant, primarily for oil & gas related companies.

 

In to fountain pens because that's what they forced me to use for 10 years in school. Escaped from their clutch for around 15 years but they've got me again!

[Stevopedia]

I'm a student, and plan on becoming an engineer (probably electrical or computer.) Or maybe--maybe--a flight officer/aviator in the US Navy. I'd be proud to serve, but I'm not sure if I could make it into the Naval Academy...

 

You could say I'm of above-average intelligence. I used to be an avid reader, but that unfortunately dropped off. My school is actually a science and math magnet, so that must count for something.

 

I like fountain pens because they're reusable, last a long time, usually pretty, and....

 

Oh! They write better than anything else!

Edited July 20, 2008 by Stevopedia

[xmattxyzx]

A Bachelor's in Philosophy and another one in French Language and Literature. Right now Cognitive Neuroscience student, soon to be Psychiatry student, as well. Writer.

 

Fountain pens are awesome.

[Gawain]

I'm a garage mechanic, avid football fan and I'm thinking about buying one of those refrigerated beer kegs for the kitchen.

 

LOL, just kidding..... I'm an engineer. I use to design commercial heating and air conditioning systems, now I'm in QA, writing test scripts to test computer systems used in the manufacture of drugs. My degree is in Geology from the University of Kansas (1981) and I'm half way through my MBA program. I'll graduate in June of '09.

 

I've always loved pens... pen boxes, paper! For the past few years I've falling out of love until recently. I found a wonderful feeling gel pen and a refill which blew my mind. Since I fell back in love with writing I found myself here! I recently bought a Waterman Phileas and moleskin journal. WOW, its like writing on air. It seems like I'm putting down ink without even touching the paper. What a feeling!

 

 

Gawain

[DaleR]

I'm military, college-educated, and an avid reader...Ok, maybe you are correct about fountain pen users being of above average intelligence

 

Dale

[satrap]

I'm nothing special, I just like using FPs.

 

[Stevopedia]

Graduated from highschool this year, after a solid year of fountain pen use.

 

Half way through highschool I started to enjoy vintage things more often, e.g. style, pens, watches. Also became an Anglophile in the process. I enjoy the fact that a fountain pen, as opposed to a BP or even a RB, is meant to last a lifetime (or more?), and were constructed in a time where quality was valued much higher. Fountain pens are just more fun to use than dreary BPs. When I used to uncap a BP I'd think, "Oh great, I have to take notes now." Now when I unscrew my fountain pens, I think,"I finally get to put my <insert pen in hand> to use! Let's see how <specific ink> works out." Fountain pens add a little bit of fun and pleasure to normally menial tasks.

 

 

I'll be majoring in history at a tiny liberal arts college in Indiana this year. Right now I actually work as a graphic designer for the company my Aunt works for (an educational non-profit organisation), which entails creating math worksheets on the computer. It pays well and I might be able to keep it through college.

 

My penmanship is pretty much awful, although my cursive/script is getting a little better (as I am using it more often, more so than printing). I don't journal, although I might start. During highschool, we were forced to "journal" in English over books we were reading, and I never enjoyed that. I can't draw worth a thing unless I have the subject in front of me and plenty of time. Quite a few of my friends are artists (many of them very skilled), and my first girlfriend drew webcomics (she actually though fountain pens were silly and obsolete :\). I own an dSLR camera and a matching bellows unit. However, I don't consider myself an artist. During highschool, I took two photography classes and I never enjoyed other people's "work" as most of it was just a manipulation of the colour in photoshop. My photos are much more utilitarian, almost, and rely immensely on interesting patterns that the subject has, e.g. grooves on LP, chasing on hard rubber, or the herringbone on a tweed jacket.

Maybe you'd like working with film photography? In film you do everything yourself; it's very much a 'hands-on' thing and you can exercise a good deal of control over your print in the darkroom. Every print, every negative is unique. I was lucky enough that my high school photography classes were film-based. You should try to find a film photography course. Or you might check out the Analog Photography Users' Group.

 

It's actually not too different from the fountain pen: the barrel is the camera body; the nib is the lens; the ink is the film; the paper is the, well... paper (except the photographic kind) and the development process; and in the eyes of the general public, they're both obsolete! :roflmho: But we know the truth.

 

 

[Whome]

Worked in Management for 11+ years.

 

I have a High School Diploma (I think they just took pity on me).

 

Attracted to FPs for pretty much the same reasons as others have already stated.

 

I absolutely love Calligraphy and fine penmanship. The challenge and emotional high/low of repairing FPs. I too like to wonder about the history of my pens and who will own them after me.

 

Also don't really like BPs or BP ink. BPs feel like writing with grease. Yuck!

 

 

 

[musorah]

Musician, educator, web page designer, composer, arranger....

 

Started using fountain pens in grade school, my father was an engineer and I learned quite a bit about pen and ink (and Rotrings and templates) from him. Spent time with calligraphy partially as an outgrowth of music manuscript transcription in grad school.

 

Rick

[Zoe]

My father gave me a fountain pen when I was about five. I've used one ever since regardless of my occupation--which varied and changed over the years from student to actor to scientist to writer.

[kiavonne]

I work with numbers all day. I work in a federal payroll office. I do not like numbers and tax calculations and benefits audits and the like, but I have been working in federal offices for the past 24 years and the bills get paid.

 

I have a high school diploma. I've been supporting myself since graduation many years ago, and college courses slip in here and there. I've two years toward an International Relations degree, but we'll see if I'm ever able to complete the degree. Right now, work is sponsoring me through the CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) certification, and it has priority - even though it involves more numbers. Did I mention I do not like numbers?

 

I used to read a book every 2 to 3 days. I loved writing. I still do enjoy reading and writing, but I do not seem to have enough time for all the things I love on a regular basis anymore.

 

I have always had this "thing" about writing and stationery supplies. I have always had more pens and paper on hand than an office supply store. Well, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but I've always had more than I needed of both. I found pen and ink to be fascinating. Fountain pens caught my eye in high school during a time when you could still find a cheap Sheaffer hanging in the school supply section of a general/grocery store. However, I did not truly begin using fountain pens until the past year. Now, I would not give up my fountain pens for any price. Not only are they pleasing to write with, being smooth on the paper as well as easy on the eyes, but they have alleviated some of the pains associated with constant writing of numbers, audits and training notes. I have the twinges of arthritis in my hands, and fountain pens have been very good in easing the cramping and aches simply because pressure is not required for putting the ink to paper.

 

Intelligence factor? Just average here.