Orion
New in Town
- Messages
- 26
The day-to-day pen that I've used for the last 15 years or so is the Parker Vector cartridge-based fountain pen. They're really quite nice and also very affordable: usually found for around $6. They've become scarce in the big box stores here in the US, but I still buy them on eBay or on the few times I've been to Europe.
At my desk, I keep a couple of fancy vintage pewter holders, a couple of ink wells, and whatever nibs catch my fancy. I picked up a jar of over 500 mixed brand-new nibs a couple of years ago at a flea market...for $1.00! HOLY COW. (I dated some of the designs and the nibs range from the 1890s to about 1940.) The dip pens I use for handwritten correspondence (a sadly dying institution), signing cheques, and birthday/Christmas/etc cards.
What it boils down to is that I hate ball point pens. They make my hand ache with all that pressure you have to put on them. Fountain pens are so smooth. I also love fountain pens because you can alter the angle of the nib to write in bold or italic; even normal handwriting looks fancier due to the different-width lines. People often remark on my 'fancy' handwriting, when mostly it is just the pen doing all the work.
At my desk, I keep a couple of fancy vintage pewter holders, a couple of ink wells, and whatever nibs catch my fancy. I picked up a jar of over 500 mixed brand-new nibs a couple of years ago at a flea market...for $1.00! HOLY COW. (I dated some of the designs and the nibs range from the 1890s to about 1940.) The dip pens I use for handwritten correspondence (a sadly dying institution), signing cheques, and birthday/Christmas/etc cards.
What it boils down to is that I hate ball point pens. They make my hand ache with all that pressure you have to put on them. Fountain pens are so smooth. I also love fountain pens because you can alter the angle of the nib to write in bold or italic; even normal handwriting looks fancier due to the different-width lines. People often remark on my 'fancy' handwriting, when mostly it is just the pen doing all the work.