Hail, fountain pens!

[Tone deaf]

 

[Tone deaf]

 

[Guitarhack]

I keep a ball point on me in case of a need to write/take notes on the go. I keep a fountain pen in the office for signing documents, taking notes and other assorted tasks.

I've got a couple of Waterman's and an old Parker. I prefer medium nibs. I'm not too picky about the type of ink that I use.

 

[EasyAce]

If one of you guys recommends a fountain pen for me that I can use casually for brief notes a few times a day, I'll give it a whirl. I've been needing a good pen again for a long time. My only concern with one for my use is that I'm no Abraham Lincoln, sitting on written letters for a day or more before sending. I write, stamp, fold and stuff and off it goes. Might need some type of quick drying ink.

If all you want is something casual, try the Sheaffer VFM I mentioned earlier in the thread (mine's a fine point) . . .

As I said---between $12-$19 on Amazon depending on their sale mood.

 

[EasyAce]

I had a better joke about Apple but it was hacked.

 

[cooljuk]

If all you want is something casual, try the Sheaffer VFM I mentioned earlier in the thread (mine's a fine point) . . .

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As I said---between $12-$19 on Amazon depending on their sale mood.

Ok, done! I'll give it a whirl. Been years since I used a fountain pen. I hope I get along with it. I like the idea and never found myself in love with any ballpoints.

 

[EasyAce]

Ok, done! I'll give it a whirl. Been years since I used a fountain pen. I hope I get along with it. I like the idea and never found myself in love with any ballpoints.

You should get along with that pen just fine. You notice there's a little tapering to the nib, that'll make it even more comfortable to write with. (You can also get that model in matte black, red, chrome, or brushed metal, your choice!)

 

[Jymbopalyse]

So this is for white folks.

Ain't no taser ever deployed on a black person. /purple

 

[rockstar232007]

I used to have a decent set, bc I used to do calligraphy. Now, I only have a cheap Pilot, which I barely use.

 

[Bobby Mahogany]

I’m guessing you fountain pen fans are not left handed.

I write left handed and used fountain pens for years.
But I don't write in the "broken wrist" position. I push the pen towards the right with the right inclination.

 

[Bobby Mahogany]

I admit it. I'm a fountain/cartridge pen lover. Have been ever since a friend of my parents, who worked in the stationery business, gave me my first Sheaffer fountain pen when I was ten . . .

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Today I write with either one of a pair of MontBlanc fountain pens . . .

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I figure you could be obsessed with far worse things than writing with a fountain pen. To me a MontBlanc is to fountain pens what a Les Paul is to guitars.

(For the record: I hate ballpoint pens. I consider them another exhibit in the case against civilisation's suicide.)

I just wondered whether anyone else around here likes and writes with fountain pens, or whether I'm the only nutbag here who does.

That green one at the top is the exact model I used when I was young.
Time flies.

 

[cooljuk]

You should get along with that pen just fine. You notice there's a little tapering to the nib, that'll make it even more comfortable to write with. (You can also get that model in matte black, red, chrome, or brushed metal, your choice!)

I got a chrome with gold accent one. It was only a few dollars more and I figured it would match whatever I was wearing, that way.

 

[EasyAce]

That green one at the top is the exact model I used when I was young.
Time flies.

I used the green, the red, and the clear over the years I used those pens---even when they switched to the flat ends---before I got my first MontBlanc in 1985.

 

[bilbarstow]

One past obsession was collecting, appreciating, shopping for, drooling over catalogs and even better auction catalogs, of Fountain Pens.

I write (wrote) a lot. Kept notebooks of fine grade writing paper, so I could use fountain pens.

Moved to good quality Rollerball's (Mont Blanc and others) because it was "easier". I still carry a good rollerball, and usually a second, sometimes fountain, sometimes another rollerball.

Most of my work is on a computer, so I type more than I write these days. I sort of miss the obsession, though ?

 

[PapaSquash]

Where do we land on #2 Dixon Ticonderoga's?

Mirado Black Warrior.

 

[EasyAce]

Moved to good quality Rollerball's (Mont Blanc and others) because it was "easier". I still carry a good rollerball, and usually a second, sometimes fountain, sometimes another rollerball.

"Rollerball"---just another way to describe the wicked ball point.

 

[bilbarstow]

"Rollerball"---just another way to describe the wicked ball point.

I will plead the 5th on how cheap a writing instrument I will stoop to using. But I have some pride in minimum standards for carry. And, yeah, any step down is still a step down.

 

[cooljuk]

If all you want is something casual, try the Sheaffer VFM I mentioned earlier in the thread (mine's a fine point) . . .

View attachment 523083

As I said---between $12-$19 on Amazon depending on their sale mood.

I've had a few days with it and could use some pointers.

I'm "out-writing" it. As I write as fast as I'm comfortable doing, I get some dry areas where the pen scratches the paper but doesn't lay down any ink. I have to either slow down or press harder than I comfortably write. It feels rough on these same spots too. Not gliding smooth. I'm just using basic printer / copier paper.

My technique? The nib? The paper?

 

[EasyAce]

I've had a few days with it and could use some pointers.

I'm "out-writing" it. As I write as fast as I'm comfortable doing, I get some dry areas where the pen scratches the paper but doesn't lay down any ink. I have to either slow down or press harder than I comfortably write. It feels rough on these same spots too. Not gliding smooth. I'm just using basic printer / copier paper.

My technique? The nib? The paper?

It could be a combination of the three, though a new nib shouldn't be an issue. (It wasn't when I bought mine.) Basic printer/copier paper isn't always the idea paper for fountain pen writing, but a lot of times it's a crapshoot as to the paper quality, anyway.

You may also have to give the ink cartridge a very tiny squeeze to start or correct the ink flow with a brand-new pen most of the time.

One thing to be certain: Writing with a fountain pen isn't like writing with a ball point. You don't have to press the pen so firmly to the paper once the ink begins to flow properly.

 

[Steven]

I find fountain pens too messy. I prefer a good rollerball pen.