Fountain pens- any fans on KKF?
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 4,070
- Reaction score
- 12
No aficionado but I enjoy using the few I have. For practical reasons, I Have two Vanishing Point Pilots and love them, but I use the cartridges right now - less mess in the office. I also have a Montblanc but hardly ever use it, not happy with the tip, too wide. I picked up a Parker 51 just oit of curiosity last year but then got sidetracked and totally forgot about it, never even tried it out. So, just a practical user, no collector.
Stefan
Stefan
brianw
Member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2011
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 1
Legal lapis, and yes very deeply love Fountain Pens. Mostly vintage , but have quite a few Edison Pens.. If anybody here has not tried Fountain Pens....you are missing out on truly a great writing experience.... lets see , by last count 142 pens
I am more in this catagory Stefan,
Than in this one! hahah.
Brian, whats a good inexpensive pen to start with?
aaronsgibson
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2011
- Messages
- 215
- Reaction score
- 0
Been meaning to try one for a while but I've read that left handed people might have a slight problem in writing because you might drag your arm over the ink. Still would like to give one a shot.
brianw
Member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2011
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 1
Well lets see.... Personally I love my vintage Parker "51"s. they have a hooded nib... hold a ton of ink and are easy for a ballpoint user and roller ball user to make the transition. They are a Iconic design, made of lucite, the bladders in the aerometric style are nearly indestructable. I took a 1949 model that someone had not flushed out in 1960, then threw it in a drawer, and it did not see the light of day for at least 45 years. The ink was totally dried in it. I soaked it for a couple of hours, flushed it repeatedly and it is just as good as it was in 1949. Writes like a dream. the "51" can be had for 40 to over 100 dollars. Depends on what you want....gold caps, etc.
Pelikan pens as a current model are also a great starter starter pen but these are fully exposed nibs and can take a little getting used to. NO pressure when writing.
There are a plethra of chinese pens on the market that can be had for a couple of dollars to 30.00, the only problem is quality control and the useability of them can be hit or miss.
Now inks.... hoo boy.... the real fun begins....Noodlers, J. Herbin, Omas....the list goes on and on and on, in about any color you could ever think of.
Personally my favorites are Noodlers and Herbin
I could write for hours on this.....but this is a keyboard and not my journal and FP....so I will stop here
Fountain pen fan checking in! My current daily writer is a Pilot Vanishing Point (extra fine nib) with black Noodler's Ink. If I were to recommend a pen to someone wanting to test the waters? Pilot Varsity - disposable and pretty cheap. For the next step up I really like Lamy pens - the Safari is less than $20 and has a pretty nice nib. Between knives, fountain pens and now mechanical keyboards, I am lucky to have an understanding wife.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 695
- Reaction score
- 816
I've frequently wondered about whether collectors and users of knives were also interested in fountain pens. Same interests in aesthetics, variation, collectability, and the user experience that results when a person uses a tool that helps them express precision and creativity.
I use two fountain pens predominantly these days, a vintage OMAS 1930 with a flexible nib for correspondence and a Pelikan M400 for everyday writing. I'm also an amateur calligrapher, and have a set of old Speedball dip nibs as well as various gold and steel nibs that I've acquired over the years. I'm left handed, and for the person who inquired about compatibility for left handers, the combination of what ink and what paper you use will make all the difference. A slow drying, dye-rich ink can pose problems for lefties, and using dip nibs, which lay down a wetter line, can take practice. With good paper (Clairefontaine is my favorite) and reliable ink (I use Aurora black for rich lines, Pelikan blue and green, and Parker black when I want something that requires absolutely no fuss at all) lefties should have no problems adjusting to fountain pen use.
The problem for me is that the two interests conflict for priority. One day I really want to own a Nakaya that has been custom-tuned to my hand, but that's comparable to all but the most expensive custom knives in price. If I won the lottery, I'd have no trouble spending it!
I use two fountain pens predominantly these days, a vintage OMAS 1930 with a flexible nib for correspondence and a Pelikan M400 for everyday writing. I'm also an amateur calligrapher, and have a set of old Speedball dip nibs as well as various gold and steel nibs that I've acquired over the years. I'm left handed, and for the person who inquired about compatibility for left handers, the combination of what ink and what paper you use will make all the difference. A slow drying, dye-rich ink can pose problems for lefties, and using dip nibs, which lay down a wetter line, can take practice. With good paper (Clairefontaine is my favorite) and reliable ink (I use Aurora black for rich lines, Pelikan blue and green, and Parker black when I want something that requires absolutely no fuss at all) lefties should have no problems adjusting to fountain pen use.
The problem for me is that the two interests conflict for priority. One day I really want to own a Nakaya that has been custom-tuned to my hand, but that's comparable to all but the most expensive custom knives in price. If I won the lottery, I'd have no trouble spending it!
Bill Burke
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Messages
- 543
- Reaction score
- 6
Been meaning to make some fountains but just haven't gotten around to it. I have made a couple of ball pionts I have a picture of the last one if anyone is interested.
I certainly would!
Bill Burke
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Messages
- 543
- Reaction score
- 6
Ok Jim You asked for it.
This is Mokume Gane that I made myself. It is brass and copper with Titanium fittings. Hope you all like it.
This is Mokume Gane that I made myself. It is brass and copper with Titanium fittings. Hope you all like it.
Ain't that the truth!
Rotary
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2011
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 0
This thread inspired me to dig my Waterman out of my desk draw at work. I opened the case and . . . gone. :what:
I keep re-searching the desk every forty five minutes but no luck. But I did find a two year old package of oyster crackers. So I've got that going for me.
I keep re-searching the desk every forty five minutes but no luck. But I did find a two year old package of oyster crackers. So I've got that going for me.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 6,009
- Reaction score
- 224
OK, this thread made me dip a toe in the water. Now, don't laugh, but I have a Lamy Safari coming in from Amazon. Yeah, I know that's like having a Forschner paring knife in a group of Shigefusa owners...
Nothing wrong with a Lamy! I got a couple of year's use out of mine, and if I hadn't given it away to someone trying to convert them to fountains I'd probably still use it once in awhile today. What are your ink plans? IIRC the Lamy ships with a cartridge or two, but you may want to pick up a converter so you can refill from a bottle.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 6,009
- Reaction score
- 224
I've got a converter in my Amazon shopping cart, and I'm considering a bottle of Noodler's Black. What's your opinion about the ink?
rahimlee54
Founding Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 658
- Reaction score
- 11
I'll check these things out too, I pretty much hate every pen at my home desk anyway.
I've got about 2 dozen vintage fountain pens, mostly Parker Duofolds & Lucky Curves from the twenties and thirties, along with a few Wahl Eversharps & a couple of other odds and ends of similar vintage. I was going to upload a photo, but it doesn't look like I can upload directly from my computer... pity, they really are quite pretty to look at!
The only modern pen I have is a Pelikan. I had one of the older style Black Namiki Vanishing Points that I really loved, but I managed to lose it somehow. Replaced it with a new style limited edition Mandarin Yellow Vanishing Point, but don't like the new style nearly as much & ended up selling in on eBray for a nice profit!
James
Fountain pens & knives seem to attract many of the same collectors for some reason. Maybe it's the penknife connection.
The only modern pen I have is a Pelikan. I had one of the older style Black Namiki Vanishing Points that I really loved, but I managed to lose it somehow. Replaced it with a new style limited edition Mandarin Yellow Vanishing Point, but don't like the new style nearly as much & ended up selling in on eBray for a nice profit!
James
Fountain pens & knives seem to attract many of the same collectors for some reason. Maybe it's the penknife connection.
rahimlee54
Founding Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 658
- Reaction score
- 11
If I got a Lamy to try out would I need anything besides the pen and ink or would I need a cart converter to fill it with?
Thanks
Jared
Thanks
Jared
The lower end pens do not come with a converter they are 5 bucks or so.
Are you looking for a pen to just give it a try? Todd at ISELLPENS.com has several that are less expensive and better writers than the Lamy.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 6,009
- Reaction score
- 224
rahimlee54
Founding Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 658
- Reaction score
- 11
Ya I want to give it a try, I always wanted a really nice writing pen so FP might be the way to get me there. I want to try it on a very entry level model though in case I can't handle it. I'll check out that site, or if you want you can just tell me which way to go on that.
Thanks
Thanks
As someone else mentioned, a good pen to try if you just want to get your feet wet is the Pilot Varsity. It's a disposable fountain pen and is actually a pretty decent writer. It's only a buck or two & I've seen them at Border's Books.
Here's a link to a site which is pretty much the mecca for fountain pens in the US - if you want a good overview of what's available on the market today:
www.fountainpenhospital.com/
James
Here's a link to a site which is pretty much the mecca for fountain pens in the US - if you want a good overview of what's available on the market today:
www.fountainpenhospital.com/
James
