Beginner Fountain Pens

#1

Post by axiomdata316 » Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 9:27 PM UTC

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#2

Post by makeitrain » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 6:02 AM UTC

My mentor got me into fountain pens... It's nice to have a fine instrument for contemplation. Something a little more exciting to use than a regular pen, really encourages you to pick it up and write something just to watch the ink flow. Then your thoughts unfold and you keep writing just to see where it goes. I've been able to discover and clarify ideas many times through this process.

I suggest a lamy safari and a rhodia pad. You can get ink samples from goulet pens and try a bunch of different colors.

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#3

Post by mchelpa » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 6:54 AM UTC

Had a fountain pen in elementary school, but I’m left handed and all my writing was smudged

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#4

Post by powersnail » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 8:23 AM UTC

My advice to fellow fountain pen users is to get one of those syringes. It’s just so much easier and so little mess, a rare object that is both cheap and effective. No more angling your ink bottle, no more rotating or squeezing converters, no more wiping down the pen, no more accidental palm discoloration. Just one pull, one push, rinse, and done.

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#5

Post by lbotos » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 9:09 AM UTC

Any lefties wanna chime in?

Love the charm of a fountain pen, convinced my left-handedness would hamper the experience greatly.

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#6

Post by john_the_writer » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 10:35 AM UTC

Been using one for 10 years. Same pen. Love it. I need to find me a syringe though.

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#7

Post by lewiso1 » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 11:58 AM UTC

lbotos wrote: post #5

Any lefties wanna chime in? Love the charm of a fountain pen, convinced my left-handedness would hamper the experience greatly.

“Proper” writing technique has the pen being right angled to the line, which puts the wrist below the line and avoids smudging. It’s pretty uncomfortable at first, but can be learned.

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#8

Post by Srikanth » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 12:37 PM UTC

john_the_writer wrote: post #6

Been using one for 10 years. Same pen. Love it. I need to find me a syringe though.

10 years is a long time. What is that pen?

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#9

Post by jgtrosh » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 1:21 PM UTC

lbotos wrote: post #5

Any lefties wanna chime in? Love the charm of a fountain pen, convinced my left-handedness would hamper the experience greatly.

Not a leftie, but this is a common theme in FP communities. Loads of videos on YouTube, for example this [1] is one of multiple videos from Goulet on this subject.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3sAngid8aI

There's several points but iirc the other main point of focus is getting an ink/pen/paper combination that gets ink dried asap. But that's quite finnicky and you can't just start writing on any random document…

Honestly, if you've been traumatized by a fountain pen as a leftie, maybe don't force yourself through this again, but for many lefties it seems to be going great!

Re: Beginner Fountain Pens

#10

Post by jmhammond » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 2:03 PM UTC

lbotos wrote: post #5

Any lefties wanna chime in? Love the charm of a fountain pen, convinced my left-handedness would hamper the experience greatly.

I’m a lefty. Been using fountain pens exclusively for years. Find a quick drying ink and paper. I love Kon Peki (great blue that dries fast enough for me to write). And don’t worry about having ink on your hands. You look like an artist.