I love fountain pens. My handwriting is way better with FP than using ball point pen. I started with camel, then pilot and then switched to Parker in my school days. After almost 8 year break I decided to get back to FP last year and bought Lamy fine charcoal pen after reading some recommendations. I didn't like it and after writing 4 pages my fingers started hurting.
Is there a decent FP that anyone here can recommend ?
Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
171–180 of 233 posts
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#172Man I forgot how annoying frames pages are when you try to zoom them for readability. Double annoying when the pages inside the frames have redirects when you try to load them outside the frames. :(
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Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#173I use fountain pens and glass pens all the time, and have tried inks from all over the world. My favorite ink is Take-Sumi, by Pilot, from Japan. If you’re interested in fountain pens and ink, Massdrop is a good place to sample a variety of options.
Assuming you're in the US, you'll be able to find a lot of pens and ink on Amazon. If you're looking to support American retailers, try Vanness Pens, Anderson Pens, Goulet Pens.
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#174I use a cheapo chinese brass fountain pen with an extra fine nib for scribbling in my notebooks, and I use a fancy Mont Blanc 146 with a medium-fat nib for writing cards, signing and others...
People always mention how they loved my cards/notes, just because of the handwriting. I had stopped writing for about 20 years (at the time I could barely write checks due to the lack of training!) until a friend who's also a graphic designer send me a xmas card a few years back with some fantastic calligraphy, and I was instantly hooked.
Edit: Fixed autocorrect 'fixes'
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#175As someone who writes with his left hand I hate them with a vengeance. Haven't looked at them since primary school.
That... kind of sounds like you need to relearn how to write. Which sounds silly, but there are 100% good ways and bad ways to write (both right and left handed writers suffer from insane 'who taught you to write' hand positions). Learning how to properly hold your pen helps a lot with not smudging ink even when it's a long drying ink. And not unimportantly, a fountain pen requires writing _without_ any pressure on t…
People who say "you should do it differently" but without specifying exactly how are just engaging in a mild form of victim-blaming. Or instructing left-handed people to write with their right hand.
I acquired the "overhand" left-handed style at a very early age, which needs a piece of blotting paper under the hand to not smudge everything. This at least is somewhat natural to write with since it's mirrored in the plane of the nib and it's possible to read the word you're currently writing.
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#176As someone who writes with his left hand I hate them with a vengeance. Haven't looked at them since primary school.
Get a Lamy Vista "left hander", it's a great, and cheap starter pen. If you get into it, upgrade to a TWSBI, which is a little more expensive but a really lovely fountain pen.
Obvious question: what makes it left handed?
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#177To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…
> It feels better in my hand than a biro Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)
At least for that purpose (can't argue with the aesthetics of a fountain pen), there is a large selection of "post-ballpoint" pens that keeps the ink flowing with no effort. The Pilot V5 and Uni-Ball Eye are both ubiquitous classics in the space. Much cheaper and much easier to deal with than fountain pens.
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#178All I know is that my extra fine Pilot custom 823 beats all my other pens for flow and capacity.
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#179To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…
Depending on the pen, it is also smoother when writing, offering less resistance. Useful to sketch diagrams quickly with smooth lines or have a nice regular writing. Con: I have been using Lamy fountain pens for a while, and Lamy owners can recognise each other's in the firm to the traces of black ink on their fingers.
Obviously, the plural of anecdote is not data, but I've been using a Lamy (Logo; fine nib) for years now, and I've yet to have more than the (very occasional) weak smudge of ink on the part of my pinky and ring fingers resting against the paper.
I'm a leftie, even. (Mostly using Parker Quink, which dries very fast - occasionally using Diamine inks, too.)
Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)
#180To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…
You forgot the main reason for which most of us use fountain pens: they are cool.