Pipes and fountain pens
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Bwahahahahah, implying that anyone who doesn't agree with your point of view is stupid is the typical last desperate act of the hopelessly insecure :D :D
Once upon a time people dipped sharpened feathers into a cup of ink. Quills kept getting dull and needing to be sharpened, so someone came up with a way to replicate them with a metal.
That solved, people thought there must be a quicker way to write than dipping it into ink, and also to make it more conveniently portable. So someone devised a way to put the ink into a hollow tube attached to the point.
That solved, people wondered if there could be a pen that wouldn't leak readily, wouldn't dry out if left unused for a period of time, and whose ink would dry almost immediately so it wouldn't smear or need blotting. So the ballpoint was invented.
But the ballpoint tended to skip, and required more pressure to write with, leading to hand-fatigue. So going on modern technology, someone invented a way to make liquid ink that flows easily but dries immediately, and a rolling ball with tight enough tolerance that it won't leak out. That's the current state of the art in writing instruments.
Fountain pens have their charm. Like tube amps, wind-up watches, vinyl records and myriad other relics of the early and mid 20th century they appeal to the nostalgia and eccentricity in some people. And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make them stupid or ignorant or sad fools. Nor does it make those of us stupid, ignorant or sad fools if we choose to relegate obsolete technology to glass display cases.
Bad example.
Further, fountain pens don't appeal to me for reasons of nostalgia or eccentricity.
So far, according to you, to like a fountain pen one has to be: insane, condescending, defensive, nostalgic or eccentric. Wrong on all counts thus far.
By all means, keep trying, though.
Expensive? Luxury? Ha!
How about: Environmentally Friendly, Cost Saving, and Waste Reducing.
http://www.gouletpens.com/jinhao-159-fountain-pen-black-medium/p/JIN-159-Black
This is one of my favourite pens, it cost no more than a pack of ordinary gel pens at the supermarket, and it'll probably last forever.
http://www.gouletpens.com/noodlers-black-3oz-bottled-fountain-pen-ink/p/N19001
And for the same price a bottle of non-feathering, tamper resistant, utterly permanent ink will probably write all the notes you could want for years, and you can be sure that the paper will disintegrate before that ink lets go (unless you anticipate someone altering your documents with a laser, but Noodler's has an ink for that too: http://www.gouletpens.com/noodlers-bad-black-moccasin-3oz-bottled-fountain-pen-ink/p/N19061).
The nib on the Jinhao 159 may not be the most amazing thing out of the box, but even the best nibs only have about a 50/50 chance of being really good straight from the factory, and with a bit of practice it only takes a few minutes to tune a nib with some fine abrasive.
Best of all the pen is so thick that most people would just assume it's worth hundreds of dollars.
But there's the trap, this all sounds so reasonable, when in reality it's just the first step down a long, steep, colourful road.
That pen will take any #6 size nib, with nearly a dozen varieties of line width and shape ( http://www.gouletpens.com/search?query=%236+nib&facetValueFilter= ), and then you start looking at the different characteristics of ink, hundreds upon hundreds of shades, some with very special qualities...
Then you start thinking more about what it is a pen is actually meant to do, and stumble across the immaculate display of talent at the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting website: http://www.iampeth.com/videos
The state of the art in writing instruments is the same as the state of the art in musical instruments. The best that there will ever be was crafted a long, long time ago. Modern technology only strives to replicate the experience that can be had with "the real thing." A tone generator can play a fancy tune, but nothing will ever replace the live orchestra.
I'm sorry, but he doesn't get to condescend to us like that.
We don't need his blessing to like something and this bizarre, passive-aggressive "you can like it, no problem, but under the conditions by which I'll label you" is unacceptable.
He can believe what he wishes, but I'm not passively accepting his conditions as a given.
He talks to people like they are children. It's bothersome.
Macaroon, I was being quite serious. Yesterday I sat in my new Porsche, smoking my commissioned Michael Parks pipe, and jotting a few thoughts down, pen to paper, with my Mont Blanc fountain pen. I happened to glance down at my Hublot timepiece and realized it was getting late. It was in that moment I realized how materialistic and vapid you people are.
Hahaha. I'm sure the regular folk will appreciate the pun as you wiz by them on their way to work on public transportation.
And if you want the bargain of the century, the Jinhao 159 in Gold, Orange and Yellow is on sale for $6.99. Of course, only the Black version will pass for the Mont Blanc, but at these prices you could get both. And while you're at it, Goldspot has an exclusive: the Jinhao 599 for a mere $3.95. These are Demonstrators available in a variety of colors. Despite the ridiculous price, it writes amazingly well, and even comes with a converter. Oh dear, I feel a PAD attack coming on. Oh, and Tom, thanks so much for showing us the inks on your desk. Now my wife can no longer complain that I have too many inks, e.g., "why do you need three different black inks?" BTW, there's a great blog on black inks at Jet Pens. ✍
But he's obviously just trying to get attention, the nerve, to come in here and speak so poorly about one of the best hobbies around (bringing up your standards of penmanship can be very valuable).
He acts like his ways are just inherently superior, but we know the truth, when a lot of other people are having a good time and you're on the outside, some people can't resist the temptation to take some cheap shots and try to bring everyone else down.
I actually don't spend a lot of money on either pipes or pens. I have some expensive pens, but they are gifts or inherited. With pipes and fountain pens, you can spend a lot of money, yes, but after some price point it's just meaningless. I haven't spent more than $60 on any pen and $45 on any pipe. I could, and it would worth it I guess, but I would never spend $500 for a pipe or a pen.
But I don't see anything wrong with spending a lot of money on these, if you have the money. I saw people spending more than $1000 in one night just for drinking. Is it reasonable? I don't think so. Do I care? Not at all. It's their money.
As for cars, I can't talk about them. I only have one car, and it's not a luxury item.
So, I'm not sure whether Nate was kidding or not, but it's simply not true. At least not for me.
But I don't see anything wrong with spending a lot of money on these, if you have the money. I saw people spending more than $1000 in one night just for drinking. Is it reasonable? I don't think so. Do I care? Not at all. It's their money.
As for cars, I can't talk about them. I only have one car, and it's not a luxury item.
So, I'm not sure whether Nate was kidding or not, but it's simply not true. At least not for me.
I just want to make clear that I'm not a rich guy by any standards. But I'm rich enough to enjoy some of life's simple pleasures, and that's good enough for me. I don't crave for anything more than simple pleasures. Those are the things that make life enjoyable.
I know there are unfortunate people out there in the middle of wars, or very poor. I do what I can for them, not much, but at least something. Their existence shouldn't make me live a life of a beggar though. I have a smartphone too. Is it a luxury? It depends on from where you are looking at. I eat and drink, live in a home, drive a car. These can be seen as luxury too by some people in the world.
I know there are unfortunate people out there in the middle of wars, or very poor. I do what I can for them, not much, but at least something. Their existence shouldn't make me live a life of a beggar though. I have a smartphone too. Is it a luxury? It depends on from where you are looking at. I eat and drink, live in a home, drive a car. These can be seen as luxury too by some people in the world.
It's strange that I have to defend myself in a forum about smoking pipes. Most of these people don't need any more than one corn cob pipe, until it burns out. We don't need forums for pipes. We don't need to buy more than one type of tobacco. We can just get a pipe, get cheap tobacco and smoke away, just like people did once.
But the world has changed.
But the world has changed.
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