What type of people use fountain pens?

[UsFour]

Writer and teacher of writing. My son, a musician, has been showing me the value of caring about the instruments I "play." My thanks to him, as my move to fountain pens -- and also this board -- has been valuable -- wonderfully helpful and inspiring... The feel of the pen in my hand has indeed resulted in better writing -- more complete connection to what I write. Great fun! I have two projects to complete before vacation, then it's just whatever shows up in my journal for two solid weeks -- and two great, wonderfully feeling, "travel-able" pens to write it all down with.

 

Edited July 20, 2008 by UsFour

[MikaLa]

I have a PhD in politics. I am not that intelligent really, just been to school a lot.

 

FPs are tools of my trade: they mark papers, make notes, sign documents. I do not compromise on my tools. I want my tools to work and I want to feel good when I use them.

[shadowsforbars]

Former hotdog vendor among other things, currently a freelance courier and vending m/c operator. I listen to Bruce Springsteen and sometimes my wife. My special interest is Chinese pens which I use to write letters in support of human rights around the world.

[simonrob]

I probably use them because I was forced to by my various schools while growing up and came to view them as providing the best writing experience (aside from keyboards, which are another matter); I still do. I used them for all the writing involved in the course of getting five degrees (couldn't even type until my late 20s) and now (as a lawyer of sorts) go out of my way to find excuses to use them.

 

Simon

[Abhik]

I am Bachelor of Architecture and Masters in Town & Regional Planning. I work as a Consultant for Govt. of Rwanda. Fountain pen I am using since my school days!

Abhik.

[Glenn-SC]

Mechanical Engineer working the last 8 years in radioactive material packaging.

 

I use FPs whenever I can.

[JFT]

I started using FP during just after high-school, when I started to write poetry for pleasure (I've never published anything) FP just felt more sensual on paper and gave a better link to what I was writing.

 

When it was time to fill my admission to university I debated between Music intepretation, Litterature, Physics and Computer Science. I took the easy way and became software developper.

 

During my preparation years (2 years of CEGEP where I live) before going to the university, I had the chance to have a wonderful litterature teacher a bit in the style seen in "Dead Poets Society", this changed my life... I may have chosen the computer way but I still dream to revert to a writing vocation someday since to Rainer Maria Rilke's question I have to answer YES! At the deepest hour of the night I have to write...

 

 

 

[Souldrifter]

I thought of another interesting poll: are fp users Mac or PC? Of course, with the large number of engineering geeks here, I suspect that many are forced to PCs. I'm a devoted Mac user, at home and at work, and I have an iPhone (the original, not the new version...yet).

 

Kristi

I am studying IT and prefer PCs. Just from personal experience, science/engineering types tend to like PCs, whereas artists tend to like Macs. I just have a regular cell phone. If I upgrade, I want a BlackBerry, not an iPhone. My MP3 player is not an iPod.

 

 

There's a poll on this somewhere on FPN (sorry, I don't have time to dig it out)--it's about an even divide amongst those who responded. This isn't surprising. FP users tend to be eclectic types, the same who would tend to use Macs. I am a devoted Mac user, myself--Windows has always looked like a cheap, clunky copy to me.

 

I have a Blackberry... for personal use. I also have two Windows XP desktops and am the happy owner of a hard to destruct, gorgeous IBM Thinkpad T60. I use what gets the job done, and since I am an avid computer gamer, Macs cannot fulfill that for me. That and they cost about 1/3 more to twice as much as a PC laptop. I do have an iPod 3G Nano, though, in Red...

Edited July 20, 2008 by Reginleif

[PAKMAN]

Have a degree in Nuclear Engineering and PE in Mechanical Engineering and have worked in the Nuclear Power industry for 30 years. I was introduced 5 years ago to FPs by my dear friend and pastor. I now have around 103 FPs and 49 colors of ink. I love the connection with the past that fountain pens give me.

[lapis]

I am a retired rat with a PhD in chemistry and I have always loved and still love mixing and noting protocols of all recipes I work out. The only way and best way to continue on as re writing is to do same with FPs and inks!

 

Mike

[sexauerw]

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, but somehow ended up with a career in Electrical Engineering. 43 years so far, all with the same company. I've probably spent a little over half of that time in software assignments but the last 18 years or so have been mostly hardware design. With my chemistry background I've kind of become the go-to guy for any corrosion issues, of which we have plenty, so the degree wasn't wasted.

 

As for fountain pens, they just feel so nice and write so well that I really enjoy the experience. I find that I take pride in the way my handwriting looks and I get lots of compliments on it. I can't imagine going back to ballpoints!

[Mac in Alberta]

Journalist. FPs are great for note-taking because they glide over the paper instead of plowing a furrow through it. They're better also for editing hardcopy or checking proofs, and the doodles in the margins look more artistic, too.

I also prefer Macs to PCs for the same reason many of us prefer FPs to BPs -- they work. They're the industry standard in print media.

 

Murdoch

[bcrespo]

Electrical engineer, ten years of IT consultant. FP user since my university years.

 

 

[DerMann]

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.

 

Funny thing about that.

 

In 8th grade when we were signing up for classes for 9th grade, I specifically made sure to take art so I could eventually take photography. A year before my mom had showed me my grandfather's Zeiss Contaflex, and told me that I had to take a photography class before I could use it.

 

It was in 10th grade when I was finally able to take a photography class. For whatever reason, the school had neglected to mention that it was a digital photography class. Our teacher didn't really tell us about using ISO, shutter speed, and aperture to our advantage, so I had to slowly learn that on my own. I'm told the reason our school only offers digital photography is because we don't have a dark room

 

There's a fairly good chance that there is a dark room at my university, so I might dabble with that. Also, lenses for regular SLRs seem to be much cheaper than lenses for dSLRs (probably the electronics for focusing, metering, and what not).

[Clydesdave]

I'm a machinist and dumb as a rock. Sorry.

[swarden43]

-- Husband (26 years to the same wonderful woman!) and Dad

-- Retired Air Force - Aircraft avionics technician

-- Pastor

-- Operations Supervisor and head of QA for a company that makes wiring harnesses for folks who want to restore their classic car or build/upgrade their hot rod

-- Football fan

 

Guess I just like the way things used to be done. The fountain pen hearkens back to a simpler time, a time with a slower pace. Fountain pens force me to slow down. I use them every day. Slowing down has even crept into the morning ritual of scrapping my face. Just this year I've started shaving with a double-edge razor, shaving soap and shaving brush. As a result, yes, I even look forward to my shave! (I know a few guys here will attest to that - it was this forum that lead me to a shaving forum)

 

Very interesting thread!

 

[Bryant]

I'm an Operations Partner in a group of Restaurants/Pubs...

In school I Majored in Anatomy and Physiology... Go figure!

 

 

[Lloyd]

BS in Electrical Engineering.

8 years later, a Master's in Applied Math.

Another 11 years later, a PhD in Math.

 

After receiving my Master's, my folks gave me my first FP (MB 149) & I've been hooked ever since.

 

Now, I work as an Engineer for a huge military contractor in Massachusetts.

[Oddball]

I am a mud logger which means I look at cuttings that come out of the hole on a drill rig for both oil and gas and make a log of the geology. Have a degree in both Geology and Environmental Studies.

Started using a fountain pen to journal because I like their look and feel and it seemed to complement my efforts to re-learn to write. Though only 25 I tend to collect things which are in the “antique” realm like phonographs, cars, tobacco pipes, firearms, cameras, and though my FP’s are not antique they are based on old technology.

 

[matt385]

I have always liked pens and recently got into fountain pens. My hand writing is horrible and I have always been on a quest for a pen with the perfect handwriting in it. It's not me its the pen.

I like nice things if they are affordable. I've always been particular about the watch I wear.

I've been in sales 30 years and pens are one of the tools of my trade. This a way of inserting some control over my life. I have no input into the work hours, clients, etc. Lots of emails every day and what's the fun with that? When I open my fountain pen to write a thank you note or take notes in front of a client, this is a gift to me and it makes me smile.