Fountain Pens: Who uses them, and why?

[Subvet642]

Finding blotter paper is tough though.

This should help.

http://www.pendemonium.com/

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

Hi Hamilton Honey,

Thanks! Glad you like the thread. What pens do you have? If you got any problems in getting them to work after so long, someone here might be able to help you.

Thank you Shangas - I don't recall exactly (nothing very nice or expensive) I still have to find them - I just moved and most of those things are still in boxes...

 

[R.A. Stewart]

My dad used fountain pens much of his life--nothing fancy, just the sort of workaday pens that, I suppose, could once have been easy to find (along with bottles of Skrip) on a Saturday trip into town. One of my small regrets is that none of his pens seem to have survived.

I've had and used my own fountain pens off and on since high school, but with gaps--in fact, I just got my current pen fixed up after about a decade's hiatus. (Rick Horne of The Southern Scribe did the work, and I'd highly recommend him, if anyone needs a pen repaired or restored.) It's an English Parker with button fill, apparently from the late forties or early fifties. (Using it with Pelikan 4001 black--very nice! ) And I've been doing much of my everyday writing with it, and some literary drafts, and wondering why I waited so long.

I have nothing against ballpoints and still use them, but the whole physical experience, as has been mentioned here already, is much more pleasant--even a bit more sensuous, I might say--with a good fountain pen. The line is more interesting and expressive and reflects more of what you put into it, and my writing just looks better. (Not that my handwriting is all that good.) Beyond all that, or along with it, there's something intrinsically satisfying--a satisfaction that sometimes seems to be vanishing from our lives--about using a well-designed, well-made tool, an instrument that responds to our touch, that rewards intelligent care, that is made to work well, to last a long time, and when something goes wrong, to be repaired and go back into service. And I also find it more satisfying not to be wasting, to be keeping that little bit of material out of the landfills.

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

And I also find it more satisfying not to be wasting, to be keeping that little bit of material out of the landfills.[/FONT]

:eusa_clap that "little bit of material" adds up very quickly when multiplied by all of us. Here is an interesting article on the "green sense" of using refillable pens for those who are interested:

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/270/1/Refillable-vs-disposable-pens.html

 

[pgoat]

I use a crystal inkwell from Levinger, and a rocker blotter that I made out of CocoBolo. Finding blotter paper is tough though. You can see both the blotter and the ink well on my desk (cleaned off for the photo)...

wonderful desk shot!

My wife loves vintage pens - she has several Levenger True Writers as daily beaters, and we've also enjoyed the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens. I also tried a Sheaffer $5 fountain pen (currently sold as their calligraphy model) and it wrote well enough at first but quickly developed nasty leaks and blotching issues.

I currently own the Sheaffer cheapo (soon to be trashed), a Sheaffer Legacy, Montegrappa extra, a few Pelikans and two old Esterbrooks that were my dad's - just basic student pens with steel fine point nibs. I had them refurbished at the Fountain Pen Hospital here in NYC. Those have tremendous sentimental value, and the Montegrappa is visually stunning, but I like the Pelikans best.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I have a modest variety, mostly Waterman. I use them because I find them more comfortable and my hand writing looks better with them. I also like the variety of coloured ink available, when one runs out just change the cartridge.

I am a little less keen on the bladder pens.

 

[Shangas]

Hey Ethan,

Why are you less keen on the old-fashioned ink-sac pens? They now make up the majority of my collection.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Hey Ethan,

Why are you less keen on the old-fashioned ink-sac pens? They now make up the majority of my collection.

I think it's largely a point a practicality , I can see the attraction they're just not for me. On a daily basis I probably use at least four differnet pens each with a different ink, combined with the fact that I travel about with them, they have a case, I find the cartridges more practical.

Many of the bladder pens I have tried don't seem to have much of a capacity, that said my Grandad did give a vintage parker with a bladder which is lovely, it sort of has a concealed nib.

I would like to try one of the lever filling pens though and do have one glass-screw adapter for one of my Watermans.

What do you like about the bladder style?

 

[John in Covina]

Many of the bladder pens I have tried don't seem to have much of a capacity. What do you like about the bladder style?

The odd thing is most bladder or rubber sac pens actually have a far greater ink capacity than most cartridges or converters. Most lever fill pens have a sac that is 1.5 to 2 times longer than the more common cartriges and are bigger around so when properly filled hold much more than cartridges.

Squeeze bulb and areometric ones will hold less but are nearly equivilant to a cartridge in capacity.

 

[Shangas]

Ethan,

This may surprise you, but bladder-pens actually have a greater ink-capacity than most modern c/c (cartridge/converter) filler fountain pens, for the pure fact that the ink reservoir takes up a greater amount of space inside the pen-barrel than does the filling-mechanism itself. Lever-fillers, button-fillers and squeeze fillers (to name but a few), all have VERY simple filling-mechanisms, at the most, comprising of no more than three, tiny components.

I like sac-fillers because they're fun, they're easy to look after, they have good ink capacity and they're easy to operate. Plus, it allows me to use vintage pens.

 

[John in Covina]

Sac fill, piston fill and converters also allow an easier method of flushing out a pen to clean it between inkings.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Shanghas & John,

Thank you very much for your comments/advice. The only bladder versions I have used previously are the squeeze bladder and I could never seem to get much ink into the bladder.
I am intrigued by the level fill and snorkle pens.

Here's the interesting part.
I got out my Grandad's vintage Parker and gave it a good clean I then refilled it with great success, I seem now to have a better technique. I had forgotten how lovely it writes, so thanks for the inspiration to have another go.

I'm not going to replace my waterman's just yet but I think I have a rekindled interest in vintage pens.

 

[John in Covina]

Vintage pens are really wonderful and are often very intrigueging. The materials they used for the for the feed- hard rubber, or the barrel and cap aren't used much anymore such as celluloid and casein. They came in colors that just can't be duplicated by the new plastic or "precious resins" as some call them.

The vintage pen has a story as to the developement of design, the color, the filler type, all these elements gives it a special place in pen history.

Add to it that most are used pens and have a history of the person who selected it and why, plus what the user's life was like and how the pen was in service for them. This tends to give vintage pens a charm that is not matched by new pens because of their connection to the past, maybe from a relative or loved one. All of these are joined to the pen whether a high end big name and auspicious model or the ubiquitous Esterbrook, history comes with the pen and you get to participate in it.

I have a black Esterbrook with the Bell System Property inscribed on it and I wonder where was this used, office, sales rep, lineman? It speaks of an age before all of life's small items were not simply disposable too.

 

[Lou]

My handwriting was terrible so I picked up some books and started a course of hand writing repair. The fountain pen was recommended because you slow down using one.

I did that too, but got distracted by other things and didn't stick with the course long enough for a lasting improvement. I'm glad you mentioned it, because this is exactly what I should do over the winter break.

I do not use extreme high end models.

I don't either. I appreciate the artistry, but prefer something with simpler lines like my Parker 21 or Schaeffer Valiant Snorkel.

Everyday use is a Lamy Vista.

My Lamy Al-star has become my out-and-about pen. It's plenty durable, feels great in the hand, and the ink flow is ideal.

My New Year resolution will be to get back into journaling. I used to carry a pen or two and a good notebook in a shoulder bag whenever I was out. I want to get back to it.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Some interesting points there. I might try looking out for a new vintage pen in the new year.

Does anyone have any thoughts/review regarding the snorkel filling pens, they interest me most at the moment, but I'd like a pen that I can use.

 

[John in Covina]

My Sheaffer collection is woefully underused, I have a couple of snorkle fillers and all of my vintage ones are derivations of the Balance design lines which are classic. It's simply a matter of finding one that writes well and you like the feel of it.

Sheaffer is one of the big three (or big four) classic brands in the US.

Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman and for some Wahl-Eversharp are regarded as the leading US brands thru the golden era of fountain pens.

During those days, designs, materials and filling system innovations were actually newsworthy items.

 

[Bustercat]

Believe it or not, I had to use fountain pens in my school growing up in the 80's in NY. They were cheap Shaeffers, I think, and I always liked them, though my penmanship wasn't the best and I hated having to write and rewrite compositions.

This year, my fiancee was shooting something in Sacramento and I had basically 8+ hours to kill in kind of a boring town, so for fun i started looking into them, and found out about the Esterbrook J (from this site, actually!). Perfect combo of jet age streamlining looks, solid durability, and affordable price.

I started researching spencerian and other scripts, choosing glyphs i liked, and decided I was going to go back and master longhand on my own terms.

I carry no less than 3 with me at all times. They're great for sketching as well as writing.
I've also experimented with nibs, since esties are compatible with both vintage osmiroids and pelikans. The only pen I like the looks of more that I've seen, in any price range, is possibly the Parker Vacuumatic, and even that's a little flamboyant for me.

I like fountain pens for the reason that they can draw a line of even color across a page at most speeds. I love the fact that they came from an era before every little thing was disposable. And honestly, any chance to put celluloid in my hands I'll take. I love the muted, rich colors.

 

[GallatinHatMan]

I, too, have used fountain pens most of my life. Over the last several years, however, the vintage ones I have are simply for display and I use regularly the Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point. All the the convenience of a ball point with the feel of a real fountain pen. I have several and they are about all I use now.

 

[MrSpadesGirl]

I, too am a fountain pen lover. Although, I've never bought a non-disposeable pen of my own.

It is on my Christmas wish list and I think the Mister is planning on buying a Parker for me. For the time being, I've been using the Pilot Varsity disposeables, as well. They're ok, but nothing like a real pen.

 

[St.Ignatz]

I, too, have used fountain pens most of my life. Over the last several years, however, the vintage ones I have are simply for display and I use regularly the Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point. All the the convenience of a ball point with the feel of a real fountain pen. I have several and they are about all I use now.

I'm with you on the Vanishing Point. I thought it was a gimmick until I gave it a serious look. The fine point is more like an EF. My only complaint is the lack of capacity and difficult filling of the piston insert. I've just been re-filling spent cartridges.
Tom D