Pipes and fountain pens
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What a neat thread! The allure of fountain pens, for me, very closely resembles that of the pipe. I enjoy all the futzing and maintenance and preparation that goes into using them, especially since those efforts result in such a pleasurable experience, and the limitless combinations of pen and ink or pipe and tobacco ensures a continued interest. Neither may be considered the most practical means to their respective ends, but who says practicality must limit our options? That said, I do enjoy my two inexpensive fountain pens, a Lamy Vista EF and a Piot Metropolitan F, for their "no-frills" character. The dry-writing Pilot is especially enjoyable for sketching, though I use both for jotting notes and completing handwritten coursework for school. I carry a Fisher space pen (ball point with replaceable, pressurized ink cartridges) when I'm working outdoors and practicality trumps all else.
Nice drawing.
I really like Japanese F nibs. They are great for both writing and drawing, although for drawing I prefer a Uniball Signo.
A while back, I was tempted to buy a Fisher Space Pen, but never did it. Is it a good writer? I know what I said about ballpoints and all in the thread, but I do use them from time to time. Especially if I worry about my nibs.
I really like Japanese F nibs. They are great for both writing and drawing, although for drawing I prefer a Uniball Signo.
A while back, I was tempted to buy a Fisher Space Pen, but never did it. Is it a good writer? I know what I said about ballpoints and all in the thread, but I do use them from time to time. Especially if I worry about my nibs.
I have many Pelikans and other top German manufacturers. I stick to to Germans and Austrians for my pipes, pens, and almost anything. I have Danish and American guys too though, Kurt balleby, bo nordh, Anne Julie (lady), Cooke......
Perhaps some of you would be interested to know that your choice of nib (and writing instrument) says something of the writer themself as well beyond just personal choice. The person who favors the broad nib and heavy stroke is a person more deeply affected by sensory input--- colors, flavors, smells, sounds or touch; this may translate into a deep interest in perhaps art, cooking and food, music or sensuality, conversations are meaningful, interests are long-lasting and emotional experiences will leave a deep, lasting impression and add to the composite of their outlook on the world and rights and wrongs will not be easily forgotten, whereas the person favoring the thin nib and light stroke prefers more small talk, interests will change often and are short-lived, they have less appreciation and interest for sensory experiences and though pleased or offended by events, the impact of those experiences will be quickly forgotten, rather than carried through life.
Whoa! Do you have some cites to back up your analysis? Interesting, nonetheless.
I.a.e., it's "...the writer himself..."
I.a.e., it's "...the writer himself..."
You're not the only one.
Pro-Tip: if you want to explore fountain pens, start with one of these:
http://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.Store.displayStore.151320./pelikano-fountain-pen-and-rollerball-pen
Get yourself a converter and a bottle of good ink (Waterman Florida Blue).
You will have as much fun as with a $800 fountain pen, but if you drop this one in the toilet you will not rip off and eat your own testicles.
Gordebak, gotta love a nice fine nib! And I find my medium point space pen to write quite well. It takes just a bit of a priming stroke to get the ink flowing, but writes smoothly and reliably. I mainly appreciate them for their durability, reliability, and small form factor. Plus I tend to jot reminders on the back of my hand, and a ball point works much better than a fountain pen for that purpose. I have the X-Mark bullet pen, which has a decent enough clip, but could totally disappear in the bottom of your pocket it's so compact.
I have about 50 fountain pens, ranging from some very utilitarian, inexpensive models, to some very fine ones, like a Mont Blanc Meisterstueck, a Waterman Opera, and a few other beauties. I always carry a fountain pen when I'm out and about, and use one for writing certain correspondence, particularly thank-you notes. It means a great deal to people to receive a handwritten letter. As noted above, Rhodia and Clairefontaine and Leuchtuerm make top quality papers that handle fountain pen ink superbly. In addition, quite a few Japanese makers make excellent papers. Inks? I could talk all night about them. See the Iroshizuku line of breathtakingly beautiful inks. Ditto for J. Herbin. The Nuage Gris is the only ink I use in my Sheaffer Snorkel. Beautiful pens deserve beautiful inks, much as finely crafted pipes deserve perfectly blended tobaccos. While there are many great places to buy fountain pens, a few stand out, among which are Fahrneys in Washington, DC, Bertram's in Rockville, MD, and the Fountain Pen Hospital in downtown NYC. The web has quite a few top of the line merchants, amongst whom you will find Goldspot, Goulet, and Jet Pens. You see--I'm starting to go on all night!
And did you know that as pipe smokers tend to be interested in fountain pens, their interests also gravitate toward wet shaving --and I don't mean goop that comes out of a can and a fourteen-bladed cartridge razor. I mean a brush, a soap that has been crafted as finely as the best tobaccos, and a straight or double edged razor. Yes, there are many places for your acquisition disorders to roam. And how about coffee? Tea? Time to go to bed, kiddies, tomorrow is another day.
And did you know that as pipe smokers tend to be interested in fountain pens, their interests also gravitate toward wet shaving --and I don't mean goop that comes out of a can and a fourteen-bladed cartridge razor. I mean a brush, a soap that has been crafted as finely as the best tobaccos, and a straight or double edged razor. Yes, there are many places for your acquisition disorders to roam. And how about coffee? Tea? Time to go to bed, kiddies, tomorrow is another day.
It's horribly sad to hear someone say they went through the golden age of the best writing instruments ever invented and never found one worth using, though I can understand how it would happen if you never learned how to get the most out of the mechanism.
Fountain pens can be fiddly, but ballpoint pens on the other hand are pure evil.
When I was in college (not too long ago) and had to do a fair amount of writing by hand, I went through dozens of ballpoint pens, every price range, and never found a pen that could make it through a day without stopping. I even tried using a bunch of Fisher Space Pens, surely a pressurised cartridge used by NASA would perform better, right?
Nope. It could have been that the store I was buying from only had old stock, but whatever the case the result was the same, a pen that couldn't make it through the day, leaving me with no recourse but to keep an entire pack of assorted pens on hand at any given point and just cycle through them as they would all randomly start and stop working.
You can't get by without one if you're doing carbon copies, but if your intention is to write efficiently then the ballpoint pen is a tool straight out of a nightmare.
Finally one day I went through my room and grabbed every ballpoint pen I could find and snapped every single one of them in half (the Fisher cartridges got chopped up with wire cutters). I used fine tip felt markers from then on.
Unfortunately it wasn't until a few years later that I first tried Fountain Pens. Just about the most beautiful things in the world.
It's not hard to imagine that a lot of people over the last century would feel the same way about Fountain Pens as I do about ballpoints, the difference is, you can fix a Fountain Pen.
Every characteristic of the writing instrument can be tuned to your liking, line width, writing angle, pressure, and how much ink flows to the paper, it's all perfectly controllable. I'm not done with a nib until it can place dots on free hanging paper with 99% consistency. Once you have one of those, nothing else can possibly compare.
These aren't just perfectly controllable, but durable and consistent.
A few years ago I lost a TWSBI 580AL in a farm truck, and finally this spring I found it. After a year and a half under a truck seat, including one and a half bitter Canadian winters, the nib wrote perfectly the moment it touched paper.
They write especially well over dirt and grease too, you'd have to use a pencil to really find something more reliable.
Ironically I'd say a Fountain Pen is at home in a dirty truck as much as anywhere else. Ink does smear, the pens can burp with pressure or temperature changes, and I do find ink creeping up the grip sometimes, but as far a functionality goes I'm confident that there is no mechanism known to Humanity that is more consistent, effortless and reliable in transmitting ink to paper than a well tuned Fountain Pen.
+1 frozenchurchwarden. I lost a Mont Blanc Meisterstueck and mourned its loss for two years--never mind the money, it was the pen! Then one day, while moving some boxes in the garage, there was my pen, covered with dirt, etc. I quickly breathed a prayer of thanksgiving, resolving to spend whatever was necessary to restore my baby to life. As frozen did, I ran the nib across some paper and it wrote flawlessly. Now get this: all this happened in Winnipeg where temperatures of -30 are a daily occurrence, -40 regularly occurs, and -50 an occasional happening. I don't know if this would happen with your 98c Bic, but who would care! One day while shopping at Fahrneys in DC I showed them the pen and told the story. The chap took the pen from me, disassembled it, and gave it a thorough cleaning and servicing, tuned the nib, and didn't charge me a dime. OK, so I bought a Namiki Vanishing Point, but that's the only servicing the pen has had since I bought it in 1989. When my son and his fiancée graduated from law school I gave them each a fine pen to use as a signature pen. And my pen writes happily on, and I expect one of my sons will inherit it when I'm gone. Ballpoints will write, gel pens write better. A Pilot G2 uses a water-based ink and writes almost as well as a fountain pen, though without the character. But a fountain pen will write with the merest feather-light touch on the paper. One day while lecturing I mentioned to my students that I always write with a fountain pen, and one of my students asked: "What's that?" Talk about feeling old!
I also love fountain pens. I carry 3 fountain pens every day (along with a ball point should anyone need to borrow a pen... nobody uses my fountain pens). I use the fountain pens to write everything from notes to journals to letters (I am one of the last letter writers in the world). I love the feel of the nib on good paper, I love the ease of writing with a decent pen and I love the balance of a good pen. I also write with a dip pen when I am in the mood, using nibs that suit my mood, and even use a glass pen from time to time.
I have a couple of dip pens with assorted nibs, but have not yet mastered their technique, but like you I always have at least one FP in my shirt pocket, and a mini in my pants pocket. And of course non-FP users don't quite understand why we don't let anyone write with our pens. The nibs develop their character based on your writing style, and it's pretty much the same as asking to borrow someone's toothbrush. I was at a dinner meeting when a chap asked if he could borrow a pen. I smiled and said "I'm sorry, but it's a fountain pen." He said "that's OK, I know how to write with a fountain pen." His wife sighed and said "I write with a fountain pen also, and he never understands why I won't let him borrow mine." But that's the way it is. They're very individualized.
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