Fountain Pen Fun

[zil]

Just now, Grunt said:

Nothing I bought.

Good for you.  I recommend trying a sample of Sailor Sei Boku - it's a pigmented blue, so it's permanent, it shades and sheens and is slightly off from standard blue, but not so far as to get you called on the carpet or something.    (It's also a Sailor ink, so it flows nicely.  Being pigmented means you'll want to clean a little more often than you otherwise might, but you should still be able to go a few fills between cleanings.)

[Grunt]

8 minutes ago, zil said:

Good for you.  I recommend trying a sample of Sailor Sei Boku - it's a pigmented blue, so it's permanent, it shades and sheens and is slightly off from standard blue, but not so far as to get you called on the carpet or something.    (It's also a Sailor ink, so it flows nicely.  Being pigmented means you'll want to clean a little more often than you otherwise might, but you should still be able to go a few fills between cleanings.)

What's this cleaning you speak of?  

[zil]

5 minutes ago, Grunt said:

What's this cleaning you speak of?  

If your ink is not permanent, you're at far less risk than if it is (by not cleaning).

If your ink is a Noodler's Bay State ink, and you switch to (or from) another ink, you are pretty much guaranteed to turn your pen into a heap of junk (possibly even if you do clean).  (Most who use one of the Bay State inks dedicate a cheap pen to it for life.)

[Grunt]

I wouldn't know where to begin with cleaning a pen.  Off to Google.

[zil]

https://www.gouletpens.com/fountain-pen-101

[anatess2]

@zil @LiterateParakeet... 

I just found MY ULTIMATE PEN... i could buy 3 Michael Kors shoes for the price of 1 of these pens but MANOMAN... it was the perfect weight, perfect width, crazy smooth writing, and... I'll never lose the cap!

[zil]

Is that a Dialog3?  Looks like it - and that's the only LAMY capless.

[anatess2]

1 hour ago, zil said:

Is that a Dialog3?  Looks like it - and that's the only LAMY capless.

Yep it is.  Some other window shoppers were at the store and they were saying... that looks like a cigar or a tampon case.  It's so boring looking.  And I'm like - what, you blind?  Anyway, I was able to try it out for only 10 seconds before I had to hand it back to the clerk.  Any longer and I would've spent all my grocery money on it and be in the doghouse for a year.

By the way, I've bought lots of stuff from that store that I can walk in looking like Dobby from Harry Potter and they don't turn their nose up at me anymore.  LOL. 

[zil]

A Pilot Vanishing Point is less expensive - though you may not like the look as much...  You'd want a medium or broad nib.

https://www.gouletpens.com/all-fountain-pens/c/640/?pageSize=100&sortBy=price%2Basc&facetValueFilter=Tenant~Cap_Type%3Acapless

[anatess2]

5 minutes ago, zil said:

A Pilot Vanishing Point is less expensive - though you may not like the look as much...  You'd want a medium or broad nib.

https://www.gouletpens.com/all-fountain-pens/c/640/?pageSize=100&sortBy=price%2Basc&facetValueFilter=Tenant~Cap_Type%3Acapless

I tried that too... it's no contest.  It was actually the first pen I tested and I made a comment to the clerk that the clip is annoying... and that's when she took out the Dialog 3 and said... check out this clip.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

@anatess2 I'm with you!  That Dialog3 is gorgeous.  Wowzer.  

[mordorbund]

My sister-in-law is considering deleting her facebook account but wants an alternative way to keep up with family and friends first. Being the helpful luddite I am, I recommended traditional correspondence. "I can even get you a fountain pen if you'd like," I added. "But just be warned that fp users can be a bit cultish."

She replied, "  I already have 3!"

@mirkwood should note that she did not deny the accuracy of my warning.

[zil]

1 hour ago, mordorbund said:

My sister-in-law is considering deleting her facebook account but wants an alternative way to keep up with family and friends first. Being the helpful luddite I am, I recommended traditional correspondence. "I can even get you a fountain pen if you'd like," I added. "But just be warned that fp users can be a bit cultish."

She replied, "  I already have 3!"

@mirkwood should note that she did not deny the accuracy of my warning.

Which three?  And why hasn't she gotten you one for Christmas / your birthday?

[mordorbund]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:37 PM, zil said:

Which three?  And why hasn't she gotten you one for Christmas / your birthday?

 

Of the 5 pens displayed, one may actually be a Roku controller and another may actually be a pair of glasses.

Edited March 23, 2018 by mordorbund

[zil]

TWSBI - good choice!   I have the Eco (that's the one with the black cap and piston knob), just with white cap/knob - great pen.

[mordorbund]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:37 PM, zil said:

And why hasn't she gotten you one for Christmas / your birthday?

I'm a test tube baby. I don't really have a birthday.

[SilentOne]

It has apparently been much longer since I looked in on this thread than I realized. I thought I was still keeping up with everything in October.

On 10/31/2017 at 1:13 PM, anatess2 said:

Well... check-writing was a fail.  It looks great on the check but it doesn't go through the carbon copy.  But then... who cares about the carbon copy anymore anyway?  They got the check image on the online bank statement now.  My husband says, "well, the copy is for when the bank messes up!".  Hmm...

On 10/31/2017 at 1:22 PM, zil said:

Yeah, the whole point of fountain pens is that you don't have to press down hard.  But carbon copies require you to press down hard. 

 

I immediately thought of this:

Quote

After choosing a nib Tillie said, "I hope in the future, Noah, that you will use a ballpoint pen only when you have to press hard to make multiple carbons."

I couldn't promise that. There were times in school when a person had to do things fast, cheap, and without character.

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

 

 

On 11/2/2017 at 6:23 PM, zil said:

I made a funny for the Fountain Pen Network folks...  Only FP / paper-junkies will get it:

For those who aren't paper-junkies, A5 is a European (or perhaps, "everywhere except the USA") paper size, about 1/2 of a sheet of letter paper.

On 11/3/2017 at 6:51 PM, anatess2 said:

Translated as:  For those who are American or Filipino...

 

 

To be annoying, I will mention that I am an American non-fountain pen junky, non-paper junkie who immediately knew what A5 was. It may have come from the time I was considering buying a statistically significant other a poster from a British TV show he liked, which probably lead to some research about exactly how big that A-whatever poster would be.

[anatess2]

 

So, @zil, @LiterateParakeet, you won’t believe what happened yesterday.  My husband was trying to fill up a form and his ballpoint kept on stopping so he threw the thing in the trash in frustration and asked me where the pens are (that’s my husband... always asking me where everything is even after 12 years living in the same house).  I just happened to be writing with my Franklin Covey so I handed it to him.  He filled up the form, decided he loves the pen, and refused to hand it back!  So I said, but that’s my pen!  And he said, you gave it to me!  So I said, get your own pen!  And he said, I want this one, you get your own pen!  My eyes lit up!!!

So I immediately did a one-click order from amazon on this one.  Should get here on Tuesday.

 

 

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

@anatess2 AWESOME!  Wow, that's two for one.  I mean your husband fell in love with your fountain pen, AND you got to buy a new pen....wait, make that three....and you got THAT cool pen.  Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous.  

I have succeeded to get my whole family to write with fountain pens, but they don't LOVE them.  Sigh, no accounting for taste.  

[mordorbund]

20 hours ago, anatess2 said:

 

So, @zil, @LiterateParakeet, you won’t believe what happened yesterday.  My husband was trying to fill up a form and his ballpoint kept on stopping so he threw the thing in the trash in frustration and asked me where the pens are (that’s my husband... always asking me where everything is even after 12 years living in the same house).  I just happened to be writing with my Franklin Covey so I handed it to him.  He filled up the form, decided he loves the pen, and refused to hand it back!  So I said, but that’s my pen!  And he said, you gave it to me!  So I said, get your own pen!  And he said, I want this one, you get your own pen!  My eyes lit up!!!

So I immediately did a one-click order from amazon on this one.  Should get here on Tuesday.

 

 

Ah yes, the ink saber.

[anatess2]

Good news and Bad news.

Good news is the pen arrived today.  Bad news is my son claimed it.  I didn’t even get to test it yet!  Ok, this requires some careful thought... should I just buy another Darth Vader and another Franklin Covey or do I go ahead and find a Lamy Nexx M in black and chrome?  Decisions decisions...

[anatess2]

Good news and Bad news.

Good news is the pen arrived today.  Bad news is my son claimed it.  I didn’t even get to test it yet!  Ok, this requires some careful thought... should I just buy another Darth Vader and another Franklin Covey or do I go ahead and find a Lamy Nexx M in black and chrome?  Decisions decisions...

[anatess2]

Good news and Bad news.

Good news is the pen arrived today.  Bad news is my son claimed it.  I didn’t even get to test it yet!  Ok, this requires some careful thought... should I just buy another Darth Vader and another Franklin Covey or do I go ahead and find a Lamy Nexx M in black and chrome?  Decisions decisions...

[SilentOne]

I've been considering getting my dad a fountain pen for Father's Day. Ideally I think I'd like to buy something locally so more of my money goes towards the pen and possibly ink and paper instead of shipping, and even then it'd have to be a cheap kind, so I'm a little hesitant. And, of course, there is the hit-and-miss issue about what they will even have at the office supply stores, and I question whether any specialty stores around here would have anything I can afford...

Sorry, that turned a bit rambly. Pretending that I am decided on a fountain pen.

Hand size - Don't know

Pen size - Don't know. He does have arthritis, but I'm unsure whether it affects his hands/writing.

Color preference - Don't know

Material preference - Don't know

Left-handed - Yes

I guess I have some research (aka poking around to find pen and handwriting samples and somehow measuring hands) to do.

Edited May 31, 2023 by SilentOne

[zil2]

6 hours ago, SilentOne said:

He does have arthritis, but I'm unsure whether it affects his hands/writing.

Do you have time to find out about this?  People with arthritis often don't write, or need to apply pressure to the paper to steady the pen (if their hand shakes), or often benefit from a really (absurdly) fat pen.

6 hours ago, SilentOne said:

Hand size - Don't know

Is your dad of average height for a man, taller, shorter - that will give some idea.

6 hours ago, SilentOne said:

Left-handed - Yes

This might be difficult.  Does he over-write, side-write, or under-write?

Also important, has your dad ever used a fountain pen?

The local stores may surprise you, but I wouldn't go into one until I had done serious research, cuz they just want to sell you the most expensive pen.  Also, there are some online stores with a pretty low free-shipping threashold, and you'll want ink and a pad of paper or a notebook, depending on the type of writing your dad will do (journal = notebook, disposable notes = notepad).

I don't have time to delve this morning, but will this evening.