DeaconKC
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,737
- Location
- Heber Springs, AR
There have been many questions listed here about getting started with fountain pens, so I thought I would post some things i have learned using them for many years. I hope this will be useful and maybe save you from some expensive mistakes I have made. I carry my FPs every day at work and they see a lot of work and actual abuse at times {I make my living as a Parole Agent}. Today's FPs are as well made as any in history, so as much as i do love my vintage Balances and Esterbrooks, I am going to tell you to stay away from buying these lovely old pens [for right now, anyway]. As you are thinking about getting into this graceful hobby, let's keep ourselves on a budget. I started looking at my everyday pens and realized I have less than $40 in any of them. This is not an outlandish amount for a nice pen of any type, so let's see what this will let you try out.
Starting at the low end of our budget are the Chinese pens [the big brown one] and they come in all shapes and sizes and are often excellent writers. You can often get them for under $10 shipped on online auction sites.
Next, are "bargain pens" often discontinued, logoed or engraved pens from excellent makers, these are often gifts that no one wanted, give-aways, etc. I love them! The entire left page are examples of this. The top 4 are made by Waterman for Harley Davidson and are superb pens, that just didn't sell well to bikers, but they are great for us. The bottom group are made by Cross.
At the top of the right page is a Pelikan 150, a pen from one of the premier makers in the world and can still be found for a bargain. The next three are older Parkers, a 21 and a pair of 45s, all superb writers and made recently enough to be considered for daily use without restoration. Then a trio of late model Sheaffers.
How big do you want? I have large paws, so most small pens are not comfortable for me for extended writing. Conversely, if you have small, elegant hands as my wife does, a large heavy pen will not serve you well.
There are many styles of nibs, for right now the looks of the nib will be less important than the size of line. Start with a nib no larger than Medium. Save the Broad and Calligraphy nibs for special invitations, etc. A good nib will start smoothly, and you will discover how much "tooth" you like your pens to have as you go along.
Now on to inks and filling systems. NEVER EVER EVER use India inks in fountain pens, the pigments inside them will clog the feed mechanism. Use only inks that say "For fountain pen use" and I personally like Skrip, Quink, Private Reserve, Mont Blanc and Conway. Filling systems are how we feed our pens and they fall into the following categories: cartridges, converters and permanent systems.
Cartridges are super easy, just stuff the right one on to the pen and away you go. Drawbacks are they are more expensive long term, limited capacity and limited colors. Converters are also limited in capacity, but are easy to fill and unless you are writing a huge paper, will generally get you through everyday use with another shift to spare. The permanent fill systems can be pump or piston style, the piston style can often seem to hold a gallon of ink and are great for folks who will write literal pages of notes in a single day. The drawbacks to using fillable pens is you must be careful when filling them as spilling the bottle of ink is , well, I am terrified if that day ever comes. So use good sense and a little extra care when feeding! The advantage to using bottles is the unbelievable variety of colors and "wetness" of the inks out there, drying speeds, permanency, etc.
One of the nicest sites out there is the Fountain Pen network http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum [you will find several Loungers there by the way].
Starting at the low end of our budget are the Chinese pens [the big brown one] and they come in all shapes and sizes and are often excellent writers. You can often get them for under $10 shipped on online auction sites.
Next, are "bargain pens" often discontinued, logoed or engraved pens from excellent makers, these are often gifts that no one wanted, give-aways, etc. I love them! The entire left page are examples of this. The top 4 are made by Waterman for Harley Davidson and are superb pens, that just didn't sell well to bikers, but they are great for us. The bottom group are made by Cross.
At the top of the right page is a Pelikan 150, a pen from one of the premier makers in the world and can still be found for a bargain. The next three are older Parkers, a 21 and a pair of 45s, all superb writers and made recently enough to be considered for daily use without restoration. Then a trio of late model Sheaffers.
How big do you want? I have large paws, so most small pens are not comfortable for me for extended writing. Conversely, if you have small, elegant hands as my wife does, a large heavy pen will not serve you well.
There are many styles of nibs, for right now the looks of the nib will be less important than the size of line. Start with a nib no larger than Medium. Save the Broad and Calligraphy nibs for special invitations, etc. A good nib will start smoothly, and you will discover how much "tooth" you like your pens to have as you go along.
Now on to inks and filling systems. NEVER EVER EVER use India inks in fountain pens, the pigments inside them will clog the feed mechanism. Use only inks that say "For fountain pen use" and I personally like Skrip, Quink, Private Reserve, Mont Blanc and Conway. Filling systems are how we feed our pens and they fall into the following categories: cartridges, converters and permanent systems.
Cartridges are super easy, just stuff the right one on to the pen and away you go. Drawbacks are they are more expensive long term, limited capacity and limited colors. Converters are also limited in capacity, but are easy to fill and unless you are writing a huge paper, will generally get you through everyday use with another shift to spare. The permanent fill systems can be pump or piston style, the piston style can often seem to hold a gallon of ink and are great for folks who will write literal pages of notes in a single day. The drawbacks to using fillable pens is you must be careful when filling them as spilling the bottle of ink is , well, I am terrified if that day ever comes. So use good sense and a little extra care when feeding! The advantage to using bottles is the unbelievable variety of colors and "wetness" of the inks out there, drying speeds, permanency, etc.
One of the nicest sites out there is the Fountain Pen network http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum [you will find several Loungers there by the way].
