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An Intro to Fountain Pens
- Thread starter Bagels
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I need some kind of thread idea that will make people waste money in my direction...
Yay for fountain pens!
I have a Waterman Phileas that I bought about a decade ago. Excellent pen, especially when used with Noodler's permanent black ink (which does dry fast enough for lefties, and yes, some of us are.
)
Sadly, I don't actually write out much by hand these days (awful handwriting, and my hands cramp easily, even with the reduced writing pressure needed by fountain pens), but my pen still works great!
I have a Waterman Phileas that I bought about a decade ago. Excellent pen, especially when used with Noodler's permanent black ink (which does dry fast enough for lefties, and yes, some of us are.
)Sadly, I don't actually write out much by hand these days (awful handwriting, and my hands cramp easily, even with the reduced writing pressure needed by fountain pens), but my pen still works great!
I love fountain pens. They are especially good when you draw/write a lot for the comfort factor as well as the kind of lines you can get. I'll see if I can unearth a post I made in an earlier pen thread that had some images of what I've got so far.
My constant-use ones are a Pelikan level 5, a Lamy safari, and a Pilot vanishing point.
My constant-use ones are a Pelikan level 5, a Lamy safari, and a Pilot vanishing point.
ClassyPenguin
Banned
strip chat?
Found it. Here's what I had a while back, just the ones I use regularly.
My preferred way to fill them is by using the disposable cartridge and then refilling that from a bottle with an inkjet refilling syringe. Cheaper than buying new refills and more capacity than the convertors, where half of the assembly size is typically taken up with the plunger mechanism. Except for the Pelikan, which I use the most - the entire pen is an ink reservoir pretty much.
Pilot Vanishing Point retractable, fine
Pelikan Level 5, medium
Lamy Safari, fine (got a few of these in F and EF for different ink colours)
Pilot M90, fine
My preferred way to fill them is by using the disposable cartridge and then refilling that from a bottle with an inkjet refilling syringe. Cheaper than buying new refills and more capacity than the convertors, where half of the assembly size is typically taken up with the plunger mechanism. Except for the Pelikan, which I use the most - the entire pen is an ink reservoir pretty much.
Holla. I've never tried that particular pen but Pelikan is awesome. I'm a huge fan.
Slightly OT, but out of curiosity...was it this one?
thesoapster
Member
I've liked fountain pens for a while now. They've just really grown on me after trying them out. I started with a Lamy Safari (great pen to try and to keep). I have a Pilot Vanishing Point, Namiki Vanishing Point Raden, Pelikan of some sort with an italic cursive nib, and my favorite...Visconti Homo Sapiens. My inks are Pilot Iroshizuku, Waterman, and Lamy.
Agent Cooper
Member
wow bagels
'i'm a huge nerd' the thread
'i'm a huge nerd' the thread
i want a fountain pen now
I'll send you a pen.
To make up for the fact that I slept with your mom, you huge nerd baby.
Definitely - I have tried other Pelikans and they usually feel amazing to write with. That one's actually the first FP I ever had (got it from my dad as a gift at some point in the '90s) and it's just as good now as it was then. I use it daily, have never once cleaned it (because I have no idea how to open it up). Despite this, it has never dried between use, lasts weeks on a fill, and I think the nib is the smoothest stainless I have ever used.
I see you've got some Noodler's ink up there in your pic! I've had some issues using it in my Japanese pens, but it's great in safaris and I love the colours. I have an eggplant purple and a turquoise going and I will probably still have these bottles looking pretty much full ten years from now. Other than that I use pelikan black, and I have a bottle of montblanc - nothing special except it's really thin-running and works well in the pilots.
Writing with a fountain pen can train people to write neater, which is (I think) why some countries use FPs in lower grades. It might help!
I got a Lamy Safari a couple months back with a very fine nib and I love it. The scraping is therapeutic and the way it writes is great. My main issue is the ink consistency, sometimes I go through a quick dry spell as I'm writing and that's slightly frustrating. I really would love to try a medium nib sometime.
Swapped the cartridge out for a convertible one and using some Noodler's ink with it, because bleh blue ink for writing.
Swapped the cartridge out for a convertible one and using some Noodler's ink with it, because bleh blue ink for writing.
Grinchy
Banned
Nope, but it is similar. I've had it for like 3 or 4 years now (can't believe I haven't lost it yet) and I can't recall at the moment what kind it is. But that one looks very nice. It has an eraser like mine, which is my only complaint about the nice mechanical pencils I've come across so far: the erasers on them suck and it seems like you need a separate one.
But like you say, this is getting off topic and encroaching on the mechanical pencil thread lol
Dr_LawyerCop
Member
Wow, great thread. Now I'm going to buy a fountain pen and work on my handwriting. Handwritten notes make a big impression. I honestly don't think I've ever written with one.
I love fountain pens. I just wish I had more opportunities to use them. I only have one right now; a Monteverde Intima in Ivory Pearl, which I purchased a few years ago. It writes beautifully, and is really well made.
As for other brands, I have always wanted a Sailor pen. That will most likely be the next fountain pen I get.
As for other brands, I have always wanted a Sailor pen. That will most likely be the next fountain pen I get.
We used only fountain pens in primary school - pens were banned. When we got to secondary then we didn't use them at all. I remember the pen I got at the age of eight or so lasted me for years, was still working as of five years ago before it was thrown out in the trash with so much other, old stuff. It gave the same result as the Plumix in the op.
I can't say that it improved my writing or anything though, since in school my handwriting was terrible and since leaving I haven't had the need to write anything but my signature and the occasional address.
I can't say that it improved my writing or anything though, since in school my handwriting was terrible and since leaving I haven't had the need to write anything but my signature and the occasional address.
Nerdkiller
Membeur
I used to write with a fountain pen...I don't really remember much about it.
Also, does anyone else remember that one fountain pen infomercial where some dude stabs a tin can with one?
Also, does anyone else remember that one fountain pen infomercial where some dude stabs a tin can with one?
That is not a fountain pen and this is not a thread for SAVAGES.
Someone (else) should do a thread for ballpoints/rollerballs!
Tertullian
Member
Great thread. I used Pilot Varsities in college, then I got a locally-made ~$50 fountain pen (medium nib, I think) as a graduation present. The OP makes me really, really want a Pilot Plumix.
Too bad my handwriting is awful no matter what I do. Any quick and dirty tips for improving handwriting, specifically while using a fountain pen?
Too bad my handwriting is awful no matter what I do. Any quick and dirty tips for improving handwriting, specifically while using a fountain pen?
That is not a fountain pen and this is not a thread for SAVAGES.
Someone (else) should do a thread for ballpoints/rollerballs!
There was this cool thread way back when about all kinds of pens http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487183&highlight=pen Your thread sort of reminded me of that one though this one is more focused on fountain pens
And here's the movie I linked to back then in that thread showing off the Namiki Falcon Collection Fountain Pen with a custom ground nib (still want one too).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRebkWHsHC0&feature=player_embedded
There was this cool thread way back when about all kinds of pens http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487183&highlight=pen Your thread sort of reminded me of that one though this one is more focused on fountain pens
And here's the movie I linked to back then in that thread showing off the Namiki Falcon Collection Fountain Pen with a custom ground nib (still want one too).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRebkWHsHC0&feature=player_embedded
Damn, the really flexy nib is super cool!
Here was my handwriting advice from a recent thread:
(I had really atrocious handwriting until I dropped a rock on my hand and spent a year getting it back to normal-ish)
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
How hard are you pushing? I've never had my extra fine not keep up with ink flow unless I was close to empty. You might be pushing too hard which is making it difficult to keep up.
Not a gif, but I was trying to develop a fancy correspondence hand way the hell back with a similarly flexible pen:
To be honest, I think I'd rather have a music nib these days. Far more practical for everyday use, requires far less concentration, still shows the crazy beautiful shading that makes lines put down with a fountain pen so appealing.
Yeah the flexible nib is pretty dang cool, but I'm sure it's not exactly cheap. ( see: http://www.nibs.com/NamikiFalconPage.htm ) :-\
Cool advice
However I'd still like to get back to writing cursive correctly. I used to have really good cursive penmanship but now it's crap and I write with print style since as you say there is less chance of misreading it. I can't even correctly do cursive with my name, gah. Anyway, I did get a fairly inexpensive calligraphy set for this past Christmas as a present and was thinking of giving it a try. I used to fool around with calligraphy back when I was younger and thought I'd like to try it again hence the present, but I just haven't found the time to see it through yet (also would help if I didn't have so much clutter and had a nice clear space to sit down and write at) ).Rodney McKay
Member
If only fountain pens would magically give me handwriting as good as the ones in this thread.
Always loved the look of fountain pens, but I just end up making a mess and writing half the speed I normally would.
Always loved the look of fountain pens, but I just end up making a mess and writing half the speed I normally would.
Tertullian
Member
Oh, and I love this video for some reason.
Flattery will get you everywhere.
A fountain pen isn't going to magically make your handwriting better, yeah. It might help, though. I find it hard to write as neatly with a ballpoint as with a pencil or fountain pen. If you're going to learn to write more neatly, I think it definitely helps to use something that delivers more "feel" between pen and paper. Ballpoints are just kind of...slippery? They're great for writing really fast, which is what you don't want to do if you want to make it neater.
terrisus
Member
I've tried using them once or twice, but, I had trouble getting them to write at all. Applying/not applying the correct amount of pressure, the angle I was holding it at (oh, I also don't hold a pen correctly either), etc.
I like the idea of being fancy, and an effete, snobbish bore, but, I don't think I can at this point.
When I was doing my Bachelor's in Mathematics, the focus was prety much on writing as fast as possible to copy down everything the professor was writing before it got erased to be replaced with more writing.
But, then, as a licensed Elementary teacher, whenever I actually get a job, one of the things I may have to be doing is teaching students to write correctlt (1st, 2nd), or write cursive correctly (3rd, 4th). So, that will be quite the adventure.
I'm sorry for saying it over and over, but try a Pilot Varsity. They're basically idiot-proof. And by "idiot," I mean "people with bad handwriting," I guess?
As anyone here who grew up in the UK can attest to, fountain pens were required at school here from the ages of 8 or so up until secondary school.
I remember the time where me and a mate at school flicked fountain pen ink repeatedly all over this kid near us, and when the teacher came into class, he shouted at the victim and gave him detention for getting ink all over himself. Good times.
I did this about a year ago. I don't think my handwriting is any better, but it looks better, if that makes any sense.
It might be because I'm just now noticing it, but all my writing in my notebook is really slanted to the right. Rough, I guess?
I kind of can't imagine better handwriting than this.
It's something that I can't do, but god-fucking-damn.
Jesus. Flatter a guy, why don't you.
This is, legitimately, my only real talent. I'm really proud of my handwriting because it was always so awful as a kid. It didn't get good until college. It's still odd to get compliments on it.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
My handwriting is a lot better with a fountain pen and my handwriting with a ball point pen has actually gotten worse. If you use extra fine or fine tips like I do it feels like you have more control and skinnier lines so it's a lot harder to have your letters blur together. I know for a lot of people though, extra fine is heresy when using a fountain pen.
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