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Fountain pens and ink?
mcnicks | Apr 30 2006
Another pen question! I have been experimenting with rollerball type pens and I just cannot settle with them. I have a terrible tendancy to squeeze my pens and place too much pressure on the paper, and anything that encourages me to do that is out. So I have decided to experiment with fountain pens. The first major stumbling block I have is being left-handed. That means I am likely to encounter issues with writing angle and with smudging. However, at least I know that fountain pens require much less pressure to write with, so I am willing to give a few a go. So far, I have unearthed an old fountain pen of mine and some even older ink. After a bit of a clean, it is writing fairly well and, as long as I keep my wrist rotated, I can write legibly without smudging everything. The main problem is that the profile of the pen, where the cap fits, requires me to hold it a bit too close to the nib, which pulls my posture in and brings my hand round to smudging territory. Its still nice to write with, though. I am now on the lookout for fountain pens that write well at different angles, and that are not averse to being pushed across the page by left-handers. I am also hoping that fountain pen inks may have improved over the past 20 years (yes, the last time I dabbled with fountain pens was when I was a teenager). Do any of you have any suggestions? David 72 Comments
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 OK. Like emory, I have...Submitted by a11en on May 5, 2006 - 3:41am.
michaelramm wrote:
OK. Like emory, I have never used a FP, but all of this talk has peaked my interest. Michael- I'll have to jot down more notes when I wake up- serious night of grading has me completely wiped out... BUT- the Lamy's from what I've seen and dorked with are fantastic pens for the money. Personally, I think it's a good idea to buy one with a converter for filling with your own ink... but, as mentioned, it's not necessary. However, I have found ink to be both a joy to select as well as use. I use Noodler's almost exclusively- made by a serious FP master, Nathan Tardiff. He's been fixing pens and making ink formulations for years. He also makes one of the few safe truly permanent ink for FP's... ph-neutral, archival, and damn difficult to get off the page (look for eternal/bulletproof in the description- he sells some that are not permanent as well). Nathan's inks while slower drying are smooth as butter to write with, and transformed my el-cheapo Parker into a smooth writer. One warning- once you've got the bug, you may regret it. Staying in blisful Bic ignorance may be good. ;) My most expensive pen at the moment is a Pelikan M150 with an F nib. [not very expensive as FP's go] Fantastic pen. I'm so totally hooked. It's beautiful and understated, so it just looks refined when used. [Scientists tend to be a stuffy bunch, so bringing out some crazy Omas might seriously raise some eye-brows...] So, I'd say start with a Lamy (so many people swear by them)... heck, they even make a beautiful high-end, the one mentioned up this thread- some swear they're almost as good as old Parker 51's (the famous uber-writer). One thing I love about my FP's- they make mundane tasks a joy to do. You'll want to write all sorts of stuff when you get a good FP. :) [BTW, it does take a while to get the hang of writing smoothly and properly with the pens... my suggestion- slow down when writing: it'll do wonders for your penmanship as well as your frustration level when first starting with an FP.] Cheers! ps- I also highly recommend Pendemonium. They've been nothing but a joy to deal with. Personal e-mails back and forth to answer questions, and they do their best to find/help in any way possible. For those buying this weekend- watch out.... the Chicago Pen-Show (the largest in the nation) is happening... some pen-places may be a bit hard to reach... they're probably all up in Capone's town. ;) » POSTED IN:
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