Fountain Pens, Pocket Watches, Pipes

[scotrace]

Making Sense

THANKS to you all for the good information. The button seems kind of stuck. I'll try the dipping first.
It's a nice pen, somewhat discolored as you see, but still, I'd like to be able to at least preserve it. Using it would be even better.

Again, THANKS. I'll let you know how the experiment goes. Thanks goodness I didn't pull harder on the button.

 

[BixChix26]

thanks for the link, Adam -- I've saved it in fave places for when and if I ever get any money....

 

[The Wingnut]

I've got a '36 Sheaffer Balance in red striated Bakelite and a matching pencil. I love them, and use them for nearly everything. I just picked up another, a red marbelized '40s Esterbrook for $0.50 at a garage sale the other day, all it needs is a sac.

Scotrace - try cleaning the nib (metal point) and feed (ribbed plastic insert beneath the nib) in distilled water(don't use tap water, the minerals will eventually clog the tiny passages) before using it. Looks as if you've got some dried ink on there, which means the feed and nib might be a bit clogged. Most pens are built in such a manner that they will allow you to remove the nib & feed as separate pieces. Be VERY CAREFUL in handling the feed, as they can break easily. Pull only on the nib. If the nib separates from the feed while the feed is still in the pen body, don't panic, you can re-set it. Make sure that the nib's opening is over the feed's vein and the nib is inserted back in far enough that its underside is mostly covered by the feed. Don't force anything! Patience and a lot of gentle pulling and wiggling back and forth are what you need.

nibs.com and classicpens.com are both great resources. They both offer rebuilding services, but if you read up enough and are careful, you can do most of the work yourself, for free.

One last note that I MUST add: DON'T loan out your fountain pen. Just don't. My Sheaffer suffered greatly at the hands of a very ham-fisted actor on a shoot for the History Channel, and after the shoot, both the pen and its matching pencil vanished into the production company's prop box instead of being returned to me! The cost to repair / replace was well over $150! I expensed it to them, but imagine the insult and injury if they'd refuesed to pay...all it takes is one drop from some knucklehead to cost you a nice chunk of change.

 

[david]

I use a somewhat upscale modern Waterman fountain pen daily. Instead of filling it from the bottle, you can opt to fill it by using plastic cartridges of ink. That way, you can refill if you aren't at your desk. I use the cartridges, and I've never once had an ink spill during years of use. This pen has been a nice mix of traditional style and practicality.

 

[Leporello]

I have a really good friend (although we haven't seen each other for many years, since I left home), who's studied calligraphy quite extensively.
He always carries an ink pen, and refuses to let anyone else use it, on the grounds that anyone else's writing will "duress his nib".
I have no response to that.

Most decent old fountain pens have gold nibs which wear in such a way as to suit a particular handwriting so it would have quite normal not to lend it.

I have a Mont Blanc that I don't allow anyone else to write with but I prefer a keyboard for serious writing.

 

[Zach R.]

I bought my first fountain pen today, a Waterman Phileas.

I was surprised at just how smooth it wrote, I dunno if I can go back to the old ball-point ever again.

Now I just need to find a place that sells ink cartridges.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Congrats...I have a Philieas as well and it is a nice writing pen..


Staples has the cartridges...8 of them for 6 bucks....so try any office supply shop.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/s...10051&langId=-1&productId=97329&cmArea=SEARCH

 

[Zach R.]

I tried all the stores in the area, they sold the pens but not cartridges. [huh]

 

[Miss Neecerie]

hmmm will the Staples website let you order them online? granted...you might want to order tons to make it worth it.

 

[Zach R.]

I just ordered 3 packs of 8 from pens4less.com, they only charged 4 bucks a pack and shipping for refills only costs a buck fifty.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

ooh thanks. That link will help me out, as I need refill cartridges of several different styles so finding them all in one place is always a pain.

Glad you found them and enjoy writing!

 

[Zach R.]

BTW, does anyone have any good tips on writing with fountain pens? What to do and what not to do?

 

[Vornholt]

One major point is that you write with your hand and pen held much more sloped along the surface of the paper, not up at a high angle as you do with a ball-point pen. It's really a far more natural way of writing, as opposed to the near stabbing grip of a ballpoint. It will take just a bit of practice, but you'll get the hang of it rather quickly.

 

[zeus36]

This should get you started: It is very basic......


http://members.aol.com/cfrizzle/home/faq.html




Here are a couple of mine:

Don't loan it out.

Use a light pressure, these are not able to create carbon copies. If using it for checks, just re-write the critical info on the carbon.

Eject the ink and fill/rinse then empty the pen if you are going to store it.

You can rotate the pen in your fingers to get the bold and fine effect during signatures.

After filling the pen, put three drops back into the bottle to create an airspace in the bladder or converter. This will prevent air lock.

Use warm water only, not hot, for cleaning it. ( I found this out myself, but was able to buff the color back in to a vintage pen.)

See my post above about using it like a dip pen if you are writing long letters and don't want to smudge. Plus it gives your mind and fingers a pause.

Take a look at Levenger's or similar FP vendors and maybe try different inks and paper pads created specifically for fountain pens.

Cursive writing looks much better with a FP.

Always cap the pen before you set it down, cause if it hits the floor, it's gonna be nib first ! or get a holder for resting your pen. If the nib hits the floor it will be damaged. Best to send it in.

Get a couple more pens from different manufacturers and see which you like the best.

If you plan on flying, be sure to fill the pen full or empty it completly and take an ink pot with you. Air is compressable (thefore expandable!), fluids are almost non-compressable. Ziplock bags do wonders.

For very fine detail work, there is a technique called "manifolding" where you hold the pen almost vertical and use the back of the nib.

Be sure to have something underneath the piece of paper you are writing on (like a pad of paper) for a better result.

I like to keep my pens verticle with the nib down in a holder on my desk. That will keep the nib saturated.

Never use India ink.

The more you use the pen, the more it wears in to your hand angle and placement.

Never put bite marks on these things!

If you drop the capped pen, open it slowly over a sink.

Check out the Fountain Pen Hospital website.

 

[scotrace]

Working on this

Scotrace - try cleaning the nib (metal point) and feed (ribbed plastic insert beneath the nib) in distilled water(don't use tap water, the minerals will eventually clog the tiny passages) before using it. Looks as if you've got some dried ink on there, which means the feed and nib might be a bit clogged. Most pens are built in such a manner that they will allow you to remove the nib & feed as separate pieces. Be VERY CAREFUL in handling the feed, as they can break easily. Pull only on the nib. If the nib separates from the feed while the feed is still in the pen body, don't panic, you can re-set it. Make sure that the nib's opening is over the feed's vein and the nib is inserted back in far enough that its underside is mostly covered by the feed. Don't force anything! Patience and a lot of gentle pulling and wiggling back and forth are what you need.

I don't want you to think I didn't get this, Wingnut. I've reread it several times and have been working on getting the nib out. It's so tight I'm afraid of damaging it, so I go a little at a time until I lose my nerve!
I'm not afraid of trying to do this work myself (how hard can it be after tackling watch repair?) but am surprised at how little a garden-variety google search turns up in the way of how-to's. Lots of places to get the work done, but I'm not finding much in the way of step-by-step instructions.

Thanks for the excellent tips to you and zeus36. As always, you friends are a great resource.

 

[fountwriter]

I bought my first fountain pen today, a Waterman Phileas.

I was surprised at just how smooth it wrote, I dunno if I can go back to the old ball-point ever again.

Now I just need to find a place that sells ink cartridges.

Did you get a converter with the pen? Watermans fill nicely from a bottle and it really adds to the vintage feel. It is also cheaper in the long run.

I have tons of open bottles here in every shade of the rainbow and haven't come to the bottom of one in recent memory.

Which Phileas did you get? the Blue is the most common, but i really like the all black one.

Adam

 

[Zach R.]

Yes, it came with a converter(surprisingly). I got the medium nibbed green one. The reason I didn't get bottled yet is because I'm probably going to be using this pen a lot on the go or in the classroom, and bottled ink isn't really feasable(I can just imagine the spill!).