About
I usually won’t pick something up, especially a fountain pen, unless I can ink it and really enjoy using it. I have quite a few writing instruments that include mechanical pencils, quite a lot of ballpoints, rollerballs, gel pens, pencils and a few fountain pens etc… One of my current projects includes writing on dark card stock and having the text/ink contrast with the stock enough that it is an easy read, any new ideas in this regard is always appreciated. Right now I’m trying out a couple of dip pens for this. Nothing seems to really be the answer with this unless I want to use white, silver, gold or yellow gel pens.
As I mentioned, my collecting started some time ago, but I’ve only contributed to it here & there. Of that, I only have a limited number of good fountain pens, though I am working hard, trying to correct that now. An attribute that really puts me into the “newbie” category is my lack of participation in either public shows and/or any other organization that deals with this “sport.” I’m in the process of changing this & am learning something new about them here and other places every day. Especially, all of the jargon I didn’t know up until now. Another recent change is that I’ve always used cartridges until a few months ago, this was easier due to my colorblindness and the fact that most cartridges are actually labeled with the color. I’m learning and utilizing different bottled inks now. Currently I am sort of infatuated with Noodler’s though I’ve found some superior Aurora and Waterman inks, too. My “Inks of choice” so far include: Aurora Black, Waterman Blue/Black, PR’s American Blue, Noodler’s Eel Blue, Noodler’s Lexington Gray, Waterman’s Red & Pelikan/Cross Brown. I am really aware that this list needs some revising. It just goes to show where I am in going through all of them without spending huge amounts of cash on inks. Another current project is I am trying to update my old index card files to a computerized database format that is easy to access and maintain.
Currently, there are just 3 categories of pens, pencils, etc… in my collection, if you want to call it that. There are the cheap or broken ones I hardly ever use because they work poorly, the medium priced ones that I use all of the time and the expensive ones I rarely, if ever ink (I only have a couple of these). Sometimes I come across a cheap one that works well or an expensive one that doesn’t, you get the idea.
As far as daily writers are concerned. I really have three that have ink in them most of the time. I have a Yellow Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point with fine nib I am in love with (I want to get a medium nib assembly for it also). A Lamy Safari (also yellow) with two nib assemblies (fine & medium) and a blue marbled Waterman Phileas with a fine/medium or medium/fine nib. I have a few Cross pens that I ink quite often though the above three usually are my daily users. Most times, I have at least two of the above in my pocket at any one particular time.
Generally, I am a big fan of journaling & writing, though little was ever published anyplace. I am a huge journal writer. I had a decent blog going for a while until my home server crashed and took everything with it, wasn’t pretty. Recently, I’ve increased my writing and correspondence to monumental levels compared to how it was before. I’m generating between three / four letters a week, mostly to friends and family. Needless to say, I am causing a little bit of aggravation with them since few are real return or reply letter writers. I just can not resist having a little bit of fun ;-).
The main reason I’m here on FPN is that I’ve started using the fountain pens much more often and I really lack any technical knowledge about them… I stumbled across this site a few weeks ago and was totally thrilled to see so many knowledgeable & helpful people in one place… I just couldn’t wait to sign up!
Though a little “long-winded,” I tried to keep it all relevent. Thanks for taking the time to read this… I really, sincerely appreciate both your time & consideration…
