Fountain Pen Fun


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15 hours ago, zil said:

OK, we need to answer several questions to get this right:

  1. Do you consider your hands large, average, or small?
  2. What size pen do you write with now?  If you happen to use a Pilot G2 (a shocking number of people do), what size is it - the numbers on the clip?
  3. Do you have a color preference?
  4. Do you have a material preference (e.g. metal vs. plastic)?
  5. Are you left-handed?

That should get us started. :)

1. Small

2.  Papermate - 31NAIdBxHLL.jpg

3.  Not really, but I really liked that turquoise-looking thingee you showed me a while back.  But I think a blue or black are required ones to have, right?

4.  Metal.  Definitely.

5.  No.

 

Let's start with something reasonably priced because I'm an irresponsible shopper.  And something I can get at, well, not Walmart, but maybe the next accessible store.

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27 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

1. Small

2.  Papermate - 31NAIdBxHLL.jpg

3.  Not really, but I really liked that turquoise-looking thingee you showed me a while back.  But I think a blue or black are required ones to have, right?

4.  Metal.  Definitely.

5.  No.

 

Let's start with something reasonably priced because I'm an irresponsible shopper.  And something I can get at, well, not Walmart, but maybe the next accessible store.

2. Is that the exact pen - 1.4mm bold?  Cuz that's a wide line - if that's what you write with, good.  But if not, you'll hate a FP that writes that broad a line.

3. I was talking about the color of the pen, not the ink.  You can put any FP ink you want in your fountain pen, and change ink colors every time, if you want.  There are at least 500 different FP inks, and most of those vary in color, even if only subtly.

Related to 2, and depending on your answer to it, when you write on lined paper, is it wide rule or college rule, and do your letters take up part of the line (how much?), the whole line, more than one line (how much)?

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1 hour ago, zil said:

2. Is that the exact pen - 1.4mm bold?  Cuz that's a wide line - if that's what you write with, good.  But if not, you'll hate a FP that writes that broad a line.

3. I was talking about the color of the pen, not the ink.  You can put any FP ink you want in your fountain pen, and change ink colors every time, if you want.  There are at least 500 different FP inks, and most of those vary in color, even if only subtly.

Related to 2, and depending on your answer to it, when you write on lined paper, is it wide rule or college rule, and do your letters take up part of the line (how much?), the whole line, more than one line (how much)?

Yes.  I particularly like that pen for its thick line.

Oh... pen colors!  Do you know that I don't have a favorite color?  Like - what's your favorite color car?  Red.  It matches the brick in my house.  What's your favorite color bag?  The one that matches my shoes.  What's your favorite color shoes?  The one that matches my clothes.  What's your favorite color clothes?  The one that matches my husband's tie.  What's your husband's favorite color tie?  Depends on which professional sport team he's rooting for that season.

Doesn't matter the rule.  I write without respect to lines.  I have poor eyesight since I was a kid so I write in big letters.  Here's my handwriting on wide-ruled paper:

zilpen.JPG.7ae046a55cfc3c3c946c4f1e297afa17.JPG

P.S.  I don't mind a fatter barrel.  It's easier on my arthritis.

Edited by anatess2
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Excellent information.  Your pen is somewhere around a western medium or Japanese broad nib.  you might even like a western broad.  I'm going to mention a few pens here...  A lot will depend on how much money you want to spend.  Here are a bunch of pens from $0 to $75 at one pen seller.  If you like any, we can narrow the list and potentially look elsewhere for the same pen (e.g. the Jinhao pens can be bought on Amazon, as can some of the others, but not always for a better price).  (NOTE: The "metal" body requirement is limiting our options quite a bit - most pens are made of some type of plastic or ebonite.)

https://www.gouletpens.com/all-fountain-pens/c/640/?sortBy=price%2Basc&facetValueFilter=price%3A[0+TO+25]%2Cprice%3A[25+TO+50]%2Cprice%3A[50+TO+75]%2CTenant~Nib_Size%3Amedium%2CTenant~Body_Material%3Aaluminum%2CTenant~Body_Material%3Alacquered-metal

...OK, the Jinhao 159 is a HUGE pen.  It probably has the largest diameter grip (12mm) of all the pens on that page.  (Most really large pens are very expensive.)  It won't look as fancy in person (IMO) as in the picture, but it's cheap, so it's a low risk.  This one is almost always cheaper on Amazon.  It should come with a converter (for bottled ink) and a cartridge of black ink.

The Pilot Metropolitan medium will write noticeably finer than the Jinhao and has a narrow grip section (8.4mm).  For this reason, I won't recommend it for you, but it is highly recommended as a beginner pen.

Skip the Lamy Logo, it's scrawny, like a #2 pencil.

Lamy Al-Star is a nice pen, but I'm not sure what you'd think of the grip - it's faceted to force a triangle grip (how people are supposed to hold pens).  Diameter is something like 8.9mm (but it's not round).  Here are some photos:

72306.jpg?mark64=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5qZXRwZW5

P1010595.jpg

Really nice nibs, and I suspect you'd like their broad nib, but no idea what you'd think of that grip.

The Faber-Castell Loom probably has the smoothest nib of all these pens, but its grip diameter is not very large (9.8mm).  Larger than your pen, but still not considered large for fountain pens.

I would NOT recommend the Caran D'Ache pens - overpriced and scrawny grip.

The metal grip of the Conklins would not likely be pleasant - shiny metal grips are usually slippery and skinny.

Lamy Aion is a new pen, never used it.  Same nib as the Lamy Al-Star, 10.6mm grip - that's pretty big.

So, take a look at those and see what you like / don't like and we can take it from there.  There are other shops, and we may be able to find better prices, but this website is fabulous for filtering / searching, viewing technical specs.  (I have no affiliation with any store anywhere, just use a couple and know of others with good reputations.)

Later, we can talk about ink and paper. ;)

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44 minutes ago, zil said:

Excellent information.  Your pen is somewhere around a western medium or Japanese broad nib.  you might even like a western broad.  I'm going to mention a few pens here...  A lot will depend on how much money you want to spend.  Here are a bunch of pens from $0 to $75 at one pen seller.  If you like any, we can narrow the list and potentially look elsewhere for the same pen (e.g. the Jinhao pens can be bought on Amazon, as can some of the others, but not always for a better price).  (NOTE: The "metal" body requirement is limiting our options quite a bit - most pens are made of some type of plastic or ebonite.)

https://www.gouletpens.com/all-fountain-pens/c/640/?sortBy=price%2Basc&facetValueFilter=price%3A[0+TO+25]%2Cprice%3A[25+TO+50]%2Cprice%3A[50+TO+75]%2CTenant~Nib_Size%3Amedium%2CTenant~Body_Material%3Aaluminum%2CTenant~Body_Material%3Alacquered-metal

...OK, the Jinhao 159 is a HUGE pen.  It probably has the largest diameter grip (12mm) of all the pens on that page.  (Most really large pens are very expensive.)  It won't look as fancy in person (IMO) as in the picture, but it's cheap, so it's a low risk.  This one is almost always cheaper on Amazon.  It should come with a converter (for bottled ink) and a cartridge of black ink.

The Pilot Metropolitan medium will write noticeably finer than the Jinhao and has a narrow grip section (8.4mm).  For this reason, I won't recommend it for you, but it is highly recommended as a beginner pen.

Skip the Lamy Logo, it's scrawny, like a #2 pencil.

Lamy Al-Star is a nice pen, but I'm not sure what you'd think of the grip - it's faceted to force a triangle grip (how people are supposed to hold pens).  Diameter is something like 8.9mm (but it's not round).  Here are some photos:

72306.jpg?mark64=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5qZXRwZW5

P1010595.jpg

Really nice nibs, and I suspect you'd like their broad nib, but no idea what you'd think of that grip.

The Faber-Castell Loom probably has the smoothest nib of all these pens, but its grip diameter is not very large (9.8mm).  Larger than your pen, but still not considered large for fountain pens.

I would NOT recommend the Caran D'Ache pens - overpriced and scrawny grip.

The metal grip of the Conklins would not likely be pleasant - shiny metal grips are usually slippery and skinny.

Lamy Aion is a new pen, never used it.  Same nib as the Lamy Al-Star, 10.6mm grip - that's pretty big.

So, take a look at those and see what you like / don't like and we can take it from there.  There are other shops, and we may be able to find better prices, but this website is fabulous for filtering / searching, viewing technical specs.  (I have no affiliation with any store anywhere, just use a couple and know of others with good reputations.)

Later, we can talk about ink and paper. ;)

Whoa!  I HAVE A PEN WITH THAT TIP!  I guess I have a fountain pen already!  It's a Staedtler pen.  It's actually a set of 5 pens each with different size tips.  One of them is just like that picture.  The others are a bit wider tip to make the wider lines.  It's a caligraphy set and the wider tips make really nice Chinese/Japanese letters.  The set comes with different color inks.  I can't remember what I did with it.  I think it's in my craft bag.  I have to dig it out of the closet.

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4 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Whoa!  I HAVE A PEN WITH THAT TIP!  I guess I have a fountain pen already!  It's a Staedtler pen.  It's actually a set of 5 pens each with different size tips.  One of them is just like that picture.  The others are a bit wider tip to make the wider lines.  It's a caligraphy set and the wider tips make really nice Chinese/Japanese letters.  The set comes with different color inks.  I can't remember what I did with it.  I think it's in my craft bag.  I have to dig it out of the closet.

:) Calligraphy sets usually come with a round nib, though not always.  The other nibs are called stub or italic nibs (depends on the details of the nib which it is), and you can get those for fountain pens too.  Usually, those are not so nice as writing with a regular fountain pen - depends on the quality of the set and its nibs.

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2 minutes ago, zil said:

:) Calligraphy sets usually come with a round nib, though not always.  The other nibs are called stub or italic nibs (depends on the details of the nib which it is), and you can get those for fountain pens too.  Usually, those are not so nice as writing with a regular fountain pen - depends on the quality of the set and its nibs.

This is exactly what I have:

711IT0GqGLL._SL1500_.jpg

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1 hour ago, zil said:

PS: Nice handwriting. :)

I was going to say the exact same thing. 

People in my office think I’m kind of a snob because I insist on a Uni-Ball Jetstream 1.0mm.  And then they borrow one of my pens to sign something, and . . . I never see the pen again.  My paralegal, at least, has finally seen the light and ordered a whole box of ‘em.

Don’t know if I could get into fountain pens, though.  They seem like an awful lot of fuss.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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33 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I was going to say the exact same thing. 

People in my office think I’m kind of a snob because I insist on a Uni-Ball Jetstream 1.0mm.  And then they borrow one of my pens to sign something, and . . . I never see the pen again.  My paralegal, at least, has finally seen the light and ordered a whole box of ‘em.

Don’t know if I could get into fountain pens, though.  They seem like an awful lot of fuss.

I could put you in touch with a lawyer in Vegas whose forum nick-name is "the inky en-abe-lawyer" - she could tell you all about how lawyers must have fountain pens.  No lending them out either - guests and other barbarians can use the cheapo pens in the jar. ;)

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58 minutes ago, zil said:

I could put you in touch with a lawyer in Vegas whose forum nick-name is "the inky en-abe-lawyer" - she could tell you all about how lawyers must have fountain pens.  No lending them out either - guests and other barbarians can use the cheapo pens in the jar. ;)

Oh, I thought the fountain pen was a nod to our barbaric days.

31dmgvrcj-L._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

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20 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

But not by much, right?

This would be the modern civilized version right?

91Gv6x9D9xL._SX355_.jpg

I guess if a death grip and carpal tunnel syndrome is civilized.... ;)  The technology might, maybe be more impressive (not so sure of that), and certainly it will write on a wider variety of surfaces, but I'm not so sure it counts as more civilized.  If we need fancy, there's always this sort of thing (sterling silver):

crop_8_yol3.jpg

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18 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I was going to say the exact same thing. 

People in my office think I’m kind of a snob because I insist on a Uni-Ball Jetstream 1.0mm.  And then they borrow one of my pens to sign something, and . . . I never see the pen again.  My paralegal, at least, has finally seen the light and ordered a whole box of ‘em.

Don’t know if I could get into fountain pens, though.  They seem like an awful lot of fuss.

Noodler's (a pen and ink company) is conspiring against you with this new ink:

https://www.gouletpens.com/ink-sample-noodlers-legal-blue/p/IS-N19086

759fcd7f-2471-4d1d-a4dc-bde28a40a814

 

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@Zil!  JACKPOT!  I found 2 specialty stores that sell fountain pens in my town!  Interestingly, they're walking distance from each other.  They also sell specialty stationary.  I'm headed there this afternoon.

P.S.  One store's ad says they sell all colors of Visconti inks.  Whatever that means.

Edited by anatess2
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38 minutes ago, zil said:

Noodler's (a pen and ink company) is conspiring against you with this new ink:

https://www.gouletpens.com/ink-sample-noodlers-legal-blue/p/IS-N19086

759fcd7f-2471-4d1d-a4dc-bde28a40a814

 

I would prefer a deeper and bolder blue—maybe the “American blue” or “DC supershow blue” on the chart below.  And—

No.  NO!  You will not reel me into this madness!!!!!!!

Private%20Reserve700.jpg

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@Just_A_Guy, I was going to suggest Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue (very popular), but then you beat me to it.  Of course, Noodler's Baystate Blue is the infamous "eye-searing blue".  It also stains everything under the sun.  Those who dare to use it have a dedicated pen for it.  (You absolutely must not mix any of the Baystate inks with any non-Baystate inks - unless you're looking to ruin the pen or do chemistry experiments.) ;)

https://www.google.com/search?q=noodler's+baystate+blue&num=20&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio7drrzsrWAhVBhlQKHTh3AUoQsAQILw&biw=1920&bih=1108#imgrc=_

6806610446_3fcbb7f489.jpg

I haven't used any of these because normal shades of blue make me yawn.

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36 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

@Zil!  JACKPOT!  I found 2 specialty stores that sell fountain pens in my town!  Interestingly, they're walking distance from each other.  They also sell specialty stationary.  I'm headed there this afternoon.

P.S.  One store's ad says they sell all colors of Visconti inks.  Whatever that means.

Hooray!  I'm jealous of you too.  Sigh, poor me with nothing but an expensive, snooty FP store all the way downtown in SLC.

Ah, well, @Just_A_Guy would surely like a letter written in Visconti Blue - very bright.  This page and this page show all the Visconti inks I know of.  If you don't like Visconti Blue, JAG can always IM me and I'll write him a letter with it (I still have some left).

NOTE: Inks are the second black hole of fountain pens.  It is highly recommended that you buy ink samples rather than bottles, so that you don't end up with tons of ink in a shade you don't like after all.  Ink samples can be had from many online FP stores.  Exploring ink on good paper from various nibs is part of the joy. :)

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1 hour ago, anatess2 said:

@Zil!  JACKPOT!  I found 2 specialty stores that sell fountain pens in my town!  Interestingly, they're walking distance from each other.  They also sell specialty stationary.  I'm headed there this afternoon.

P.S.  One store's ad says they sell all colors of Visconti inks.  Whatever that means.

PS: I want pictures of your haul!  (We must celebrate, and live vicariously so as not to go broke ourselves, you see.)

Visconti is an Italian pen and ink brand.

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