Info on Fountain Pens

wintermute

wintermute

Joined
Oct 18, 2007
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I've always been fascinated (in a lacidasical) way about fountain pens. And I really don't know much about them. How do they write compared to a roller ball? Can they be practical from an everyday standpoint? Is there a "gateway" pen? Has anyone bought any from the woodworkers that pepper the internet and how do they stack up to the name brands?
 
Hi,
I used a fountain pen all my life at school until I was about 17, the one I used was made by cross. It was decent enough for me, it took plenty of schoolboy abuse (using a fountain pen seems to be more common in England, I haven't seen many since I've been living in California). I can say that my handwriting is a hundred times better when I'm using a fountain pen. I also got one from one of the woodworkers on the internet for my girlfriends birthday last year (Shes not written with one before), she loves it and now is a fountain pen convert, using it every day! The quality is very decent also. I cant recommend them enough, such a pleasure to write with:thumbup: (even the cheapest fountain pens are nicer to write with then the ball point and gel ink pens)
Matt.
 
I no longer use fountain pens regularly, although they were an important part of all the pen & pencil sets I bought myself for office work.

Any long text I wrote out was easier with a good fountain pen. For "hard work" writing I generally used my Rotring 600 and my Cross fountain pens.

Now I prefer them primarily for the little calligraphy I still do, mostly with a broad nib Montlanc Meisterstuck and a Schaeffer with a calligraphic nib.

There are so many decent inexpensive pens, you might like to look up fountain pens online and ask for catalogs from a couple of good companies. I've had Lamy pens that wrote nicely. They have some very clean modern designs, too.
 
Should also point out that if your left handed, I hear they can take some getting used to. It looks quite difficult for the lefties to write and not smudge their work:p.
 
Once you start using a fountain pen you discover that most paper is absolute junk and you end up purchasing more expensive rag-content paper to write with so your fountain pen writing looks even better.
 
iamsmiling said:
Once you start using a fountain pen you discover that most paper is absolute junk and you end up purchasing more expensive rag-content paper to write with so your fountain pen writing looks even better.
Click to expand...

ha ha ha ha ha

My dad was a paper salesman. We grew up with all sorts of paper around and he could tell who manufactured what just by feeling the surface.

You are so right about writing on good paper. I get packets of advertising flyers that come on fairly good paper, and I save them to use the backs for notepaper or doodling, beause it holds even a pencil point better than the fishwrap they sell as bound notepads.
 
c00per said:
Should also point out that if your left handed, I hear they can take some getting used to. It looks quite difficult for the lefties to write and not smudge their work:p.
Click to expand...

Most people grip their pens with two or three fingers and rest the side of their hand on the paper. For a lefty, this will smear the ink. Proper pen posture for right or left handers would be to rest one finger, say the ring finger or little finger on the paper, above the line of writing.

This also encourages a lighter touch overall which leads to better control of the nib and better handwriting.
 
Thanks Esav, I had no idea, and I suppose I wasn't taught proper pen posture when I was a small boy. I think I'm going to have to practice hard now at changing my old sloppy habits, hopefully my handwriting will improve!
 
To get a feel, try one of the Pilot disposable fountain pens. They write reasonably well, less worry about loss/damage.
Me - I use soft pencil for most of my daily note/taking. Fountain pens (Lamy Safaris) for most other work-related writing. Lamy's red ink is perfect for annotating documents and yet shows up poorly in most photocopiers. Bear in mind that my parents bought me a typewriter for my 13th birthday on account of my poor handwriting. At least my grandparents could then read the thank-you letters for their birthday gifts.
 
the lamy safari is a great introductory pen and allow cartridge use, which is great if you're lazy like me, but the caps allow fairly rapid ink evaporation if you're not using them all the time. the pelikan M200 can be had for around sixty bones, and you can get one with a custom ground nib for not much more than that. and yeah, those pilot varsity pens are awesome for a couple of bucks. that's what got me started.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com is a great starting point.
 
I've been a regular, daily fountain pen user for a number of years. I work as a teacher, so I do a fair amount of writing, and I figured; why not make it pleasurable with a good and interesting pen?

I have three medium nib Waterman pens, none over $50 bucks. The cheapest one is actually my favorite for writing quality.
 
How do you squirt a pen? Like the 3 Stooges?
 
The Pilot Varsity pen is a good intro to fountain pen writing. It's disposable and can be bought at Staples for like $5. Lamy also makes the Studio pen, which costs a bit more than the Safari but is better made. The brushed stainless version has a rubber grip section which is very comfortable.

There is nothing like writing with a fountain pen. I write a lot all day and using a good fountain pen makes things much easier and more comfortable. My Pelikan 215 is always in my shirt pocket or on my desk.

One important thing about fountain pen writing is using a good ink. A good pen with bad ink can ruin the experience. Use ink from a good brand like Pelikan, Waterman or Cross. If you want more variety, a company named Noodler makes very nice inks in a wide range of colors and uses. They only make fountain pen ink, nothing else. Their ink is controversial because they claim to make certain inks which are "bulletproof", which cannot be washed out and can be used for check writing. Most hard-core pen fans fear that the ink will clog their expensive pens. I've never had a problem with them.

Think knives are addictive and costly? Get hooked on fountain pens!
 
Worse. Get hooked on pen & pencil sets: fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball, pencil. :(

It weighs down your pocket and lightens your wallet at the same time! This makes you top-heavy, and thereby more inclined to fall for the next nice set that comes along. :p
 
Indeed! And my top night table drawer is absolutely stuffed. My wife compares it to her shoe closet, and that's BAD!
 
I think that good fountain pens have superior nibs -which contribute to the writing experience. Careful though because they're addictive like collecting knives.

My current is a Montegrappa Symphony. I use it for everything from work documents to doing the crossword.
 
I bought a Schaeffer callgraphic fountain pen on sale, knowing exactly what it was, couldn't believe the price, had the clerk helping me find another one like it, but nooo ... that was the only one. :)

Broad flexible nib, so smooth it wrote like it had been in use for years, takes any kind of ink I put in it ... OK, I am generally careful, but I have used some questionable colored inks.

My calligrahy's not great -- except when I use that Schaeffer! :D
 
I picked up a Pilot Knight yesterday evening at Office Depot. It writes extremely well just like everyone in the other thread told me. For less than 50 bucks and it really writes well. These things are addicting I bought my first one a couple of weeks ago and now two and I have 4 more picked out. I have to write quite a bit between college and work and it is really wonderful.
 
how does the ink hold up? i've got a Pilot Varsity and I'd like to try some of these other pens, but how long does the ink last? I wrote a note with the date and hid it in my desk today. i also wrote with some other pens to see how long they last.
 
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