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I was briefly hooked on fountain pens for a while. I subscribed to Ink Nouveau, got to know Brian Goulet, and bought a Sailor 1911, Lamy Safari, TWSBI mini (in demonstrator  ), and a MonteVerde. I splurged on Claire Fontane and Rhodia notebooks, and more inks than I could use before they went bad. Then I just stopped.Writing got boring and turned into a chore, and my cursive never got any better. It still looks like Michael J Fox was writing while riding a moped with no shocks down a mountain. Now I have these pens that total about $400 or so and 5 bottles of inks with tons of persnickity fancy paper I don't use. What do I do or how do I get back to writing?
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Aug 15, 2014 19:30
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Landsknecht posted:Yeah, I've noticed that it took on a little bit when I was filling so I just used a wet cloth to wipe it out (I'm not using anything crazy like Baystate Blue either, pretty much only sailor inks). If you wet a paper towel and rub it all about the section before you fill, it'll help a bit. I have the EF. It writes more like an M and the sweet spot is not that big, but when it's flowing it's flowing like a firehose.
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Aug 15, 2014 19:48
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vigorous sodomy posted:I was briefly hooked on fountain pens for a while. I subscribed to Ink Nouveau, got to know Brian Goulet, and bought a Sailor 1911, Lamy Safari, TWSBI mini (in demonstrator Here's some ideas: 1. Pen pals/letters: have friends far away that you don't talk to often? want to start corresponding with someone in another country/continent? Handwritten letters are a great way to keep in touch (as you only have to deal with them once every month), and they feel a hell of a lot better than email. Participate in postcard and letter exchanges through sites like FPN and whatnot, and never forget to send nice handwritten birthday cards. 2. Write poo poo down: Most people try and remember stuff. Instead of that, start recording to-do lists, take notes at work/meetings, keep a pocket notebook around for when you get a good idea (you'll remember your good ideas this way). Taking notes is good even when you're doing something like reading a book, as you can write down nice poo poo that you want to remember. 3. Journal-ing: Keep a diary/journal, maybe everyday, maybe only when you go on vacation, who knows. Just find an excuse to write about your experiences/day. 4. Sketching: Find a place outside, or a picture, and just try and sketch it. Sketching is a fun activity, especially when you're kind of bored, and I find when I'm travelling it's nice to sit down for an hour or so with my pocket notebook and sketch something I find interesting. 5. Be a writer: Write poo poo. Stories, poems, articles, whatever. Some people like to write, others don't. Don't let me tell you what to do.
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Aug 15, 2014 19:52
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I tried journaling for a while, and while it was cathartic at first, it soon became a chore. I also have a very boring/lovely life and it is sometimes depressing to write about how positively droll my life is, and like I said my penmanship sucks nards. My journals read like most facebook walls  PenPals might be a thing to consider.
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Aug 15, 2014 20:00
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I got rid of all the pens in my office except my fountain pens so that when I need to jot a note I'm not grabbing a crappy ballpoint out of habit. Maybe make it so that the only pens that are handy for you to use are your fountain pens so you're forced to use them more. If you just don't write much in general that's probably not going to help, though. vvv edit: I kept one or two rollerballs for when my boss wanders in and needs a pen but my coworkers are just like "your pens are weird and I can't write with them" and don't even try at this point. I did have one of those moments when one of our board members snatched up my Metro at a meeting and started trying to write with the nib upside-down but he didn't do any damage at least. Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 21:45
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You might still want to keep one ballpoint handy in case somebody needs a pen. The few times I allowed people to borrow a fountain pen before I learned my lesson, they inevitably held it upside down (with the feed on top of the nib) and pressed way too hard.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:50
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Landsknecht posted:Here's some ideas: In addition, it's amazing how much life improves in general when you start developing some of those habits and using tools (such as a well made, quality planner and yes I'll pimp the Hobonichi Tetcho again here) that make it more pleasant. Pen pals are the most fun, I'd suggest writing to some of your favorite authors, by nature they're some of the most likely to return correspondence.
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Aug 15, 2014 22:25
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HP Lovecraft was a prolific letter writer. Oh, if only 
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Aug 16, 2014 05:52
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So, this morning I decided I need to figure out some good inks   (They were out of Heart of Darkness which is too bad)
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Aug 16, 2014 16:39
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pffff. Come back when you need a spreadsheet to plan your order. Edit: And seriously, make sure you use good paper/wide nib for Napalm. The sepia shading really needs both of those things to come out. Otherwise it just looks orange.
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Aug 16, 2014 22:06
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surc posted:So, this morning I decided I need to figure out some good inks Hey, I own some of those!  And like Remora said, use a wide (preferably italic) nib for those Noodler's and the J. Herbin anniversary inks. They shine when they have a chance to spread out and shade.
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Aug 16, 2014 22:19
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vigorous sodomy posted:Now I have these pens that total about $400 or so and 5 bottles of inks with tons of persnickity fancy paper I don't use. What do I do or how do I get back to writing? You can always sell the FPs you're not crazy about and look for a new hobby? Or you could take up journaling and collecting stationery while entertaining aren't really useful hobbies. FPs were a branching off point because I used to collect roller ball pens and notebooks too.
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Aug 17, 2014 03:12
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Yo, I would for real be totally down with getting a Penpal chain going. They are moderately successful in some of the smaller cliques on FPN and FPGeeks and you can probably write about whatever's topically relevant (maybe if you get to know someone better you can write some more targeted things). There's something about writing and sending out a letter the old fashioned way, and if you have some kind of social pressure (in that your penpal is waiting for your letter) then that may be what you need/want as an excuse to whip out your very fancy poo poo. Otherwise, for your "cheaper" fountain pens I actually just carry em on me wherever I go so that I have something ready to write with for personal notes.
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Aug 17, 2014 17:20
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vigorous sodomy posted:I tried journaling for a while, and while it was cathartic at first, it soon became a chore. I also have a very boring/lovely life and it is sometimes depressing to write about how positively droll my life is, and like I said my penmanship sucks nards. My journals read like most facebook walls Why not keep a dream diary? It's never boring when the your dead grandfather's ghost is killing the members of your family in the form of a 10-year old homeless kid because you won't help him continue his insider trading plan from beyond the grave. Or something.
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Aug 17, 2014 20:59
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aldantefax posted:Yo, I would for real be totally down with getting a Penpal chain going. They are moderately successful in some of the smaller cliques on FPN and FPGeeks and you can probably write about whatever's topically relevant (maybe if you get to know someone better you can write some more targeted things). Has anyone sketched the goat man or dick butt with their fountain pens in a pen pal circle I wonder...
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Aug 18, 2014 16:20
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vigorous sodomy posted:Has anyone sketched the goat man or dick butt with their fountain pens in a pen pal circle I wonder... Sketch dickbutt everyday. I keep a sketch book where I also write a lot of stuff like words what describe ideas and such. Also, I keep a dream journal semi-religiously after having read Freud's "interpretation of dream"; thinking of it, that must have been around 10 years ago. Damnit. Quickly, is Eminem the hot new rapper that all the kids like?
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Aug 18, 2014 16:27
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Hellbeard posted:Sketch dickbutt everyday. P. suure the kids are into Riff Raff now hth
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Aug 18, 2014 17:00
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cobalt impurity posted:P. suure the kids are into Riff Raff now hth Is it already when music is a series of random screams and sudden screeching noises? 
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Aug 18, 2014 18:56
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Anyone have experience with the Lamy CP1? Is it top heavy or just plain too heavy? When I was a kid I used to love writing with fountain pens, but it has been a long time since I've used one. I was thinking of picking one up for use with an engineering lab notebook. I really like the shape/size of the CP1. The TWSBI mini looks pretty nice, too. I'm also interested in recommendations for some water resistant inks to sample. I like the Noodler's Warden's inks as a nod to the idea of the logbook as a permanent record, but that would just be for fun. Bad Belted Kingfisher looks nice.
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Aug 18, 2014 18:57
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taqueso posted:Anyone have experience with the Lamy CP1? Is it top heavy or just plain too heavy? I had one. It's a nice pen and a solid writer, but a bit too pencil thin for my taste. With a slim cylindrical grip my hand would cramp before too long, and the fine nib writes a bit thick, but that can be said for all Lamy pens.
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Aug 18, 2014 19:04
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Does anyone here dish out for really "nice" paper? I'm usually using stuff like rhodia pads, but I always see those high end stationery sets, but I really don't know if they're that great. Are they? (Stuff like crown mill and whatnot).
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Aug 18, 2014 20:43
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Landsknecht posted:Does anyone here dish out for really "nice" paper? I'm usually using stuff like rhodia pads, but I always see those high end stationery sets, but I really don't know if they're that great. Are they? (Stuff like crown mill and whatnot). I have a Life Noble notebook and a couple of Kokuyo notebooks, Apica, a Mnemosyne perforated book, Midori TN notebooks, and some Tomoe River from 2013. Let me tell you: Tomoe River is some fuckin' magic sorcery. How you get no-bleed, no-feather paper at 55g is beyond me.
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Aug 18, 2014 22:11
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I' thinking of learning Round Hand or Spencerian, though I like Round better. Do I need a flex nib, is it drastically different if I use a stub? I'm thinking about buying a nice pen to celebrate my promotion to management, but I know a lot of vintage flexies are hit or miss at my price range (<$200).
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Aug 19, 2014 04:43
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Had the option between getting a Lamy Nexx or a demonstrator Safari. I chose the Safari. 30bux or so. I think I'll go get that Nexx in a couple of weeks. Alternatively, is the Pelikan Twistany good? Because that is half the price of the Nexx, or the safari. Luisfe fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Aug 19, 2014 |
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Aug 19, 2014 05:40
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On a related note, would a collection of handwriting resources be helpful for the OP? It comes up every now and again in this thread, and there's definitely a connection in people's minds between "fountain pens" and "super neat and interesting handwriting". I know I'm not the only one who would like to neaten up their handwriting.
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Aug 19, 2014 05:42
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Yeah, if someone wants to write something up, I'll put it in the OP. I know gently caress all about handwriting resources.
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Aug 19, 2014 11:45
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milpreve posted:I' thinking of learning Round Hand or Spencerian, though I like Round better. Do I need a flex nib, is it drastically different if I use a stub? I'm thinking about buying a nice pen to celebrate my promotion to management, but I know a lot of vintage flexies are hit or miss at my price range (<$200). If you plan on practicing calligraphy you'll probably want to use that flex in order to get the full range of width variation, but I'd say get an offset calligraphy dip pen and get a shitload of ink and dip nibs. Vintage flexies are great if you can test them out beforehand.
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Aug 19, 2014 17:33
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Yea unless you're a wizard with an oblique fountain pen, you're going to need to get into the world of dips for Spencerian. /r/Calligraphy has a bunch of good resources, a new guide was posted on the subject: ctrl F for "pointed" which is the term for scripts that use flex nibs. Honestly that guide is a little excessively wordy but i see no reason to contradict what he says about oblique holders etc. As has been said in this thread before, emphatically do not start with a fountain flex. They're pretty much universally vintage, and you'll break a whole bunch of them while learning. Alternatively, if you want to learn Italics, Gothic/Blackletter/Textura, Uncial, etc those use broad nibs, and i say buy a Pilot Parallel. Solumin posted:On a related note, would a collection of handwriting resources be helpful for the OP? It comes up every now and again in this thread, and there's definitely a connection in people's minds between "fountain pens" and "super neat and interesting handwriting". I know I'm not the only one who would like to neaten up their handwriting. Without getting too much into it (since i have a murderous hangover at the moment), the canonical handwriting improvement resource in the states (and i think the whole anglosphere, maybe?) is Palmer method, which is IAMPETH's preferred no-flex cursive. First, however, i recommend looking at handwriting repair, which is basically a very quick guide to making sure the basic fundamentals (height spacing etc) of your handwriting, well, work. I so far have not turned up a good way of making one's print handwriting effective, but so far these resources have made it much easier for me to communicate with my deaf grandmother so i'm always pretty excited about improving handwriting.
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Aug 19, 2014 19:02
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Tulip posted:Alternatively, if you want to learn Italics, Gothic/Blackletter/Textura, Uncial, etc those use broad nibs, and i say buy a Pilot Parallel. I thought about getting a Pilot Parallel because I normally use an F or EF nib, and I'd like to see how some of my inks shade. Then I saw this video on Goulet and realized that I have no choice but to one day buy two Parallels, and that neither of them will ever see anything but Pilot Parallel inks. 
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Aug 19, 2014 22:14
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Julet Esqu posted:I thought about getting a Pilot Parallel because I normally use an F or EF nib, and I'd like to see how some of my inks shade. Then I saw this video on Goulet and realized that I have no choice but to one day buy two Parallels, and that neither of them will ever see anything but Pilot Parallel inks. That's really neat! It would be really awesome for calligraphy, I guess. Not worth picking up a couple extra pens for me though. Anyone have experience with De Atramentis inks? They've released a "Document" series that is waterproof and permanent. Seems to me they'd make a good alternative to Noodler's bulletproof inks. Now I'm wondering how many permanent/waterproof inks I've missed on the Goulet site, since the "bulletproof" and "eternal" categories contain only Noodler's inks.
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Aug 20, 2014 19:51
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Solumin posted:That's really neat! It would be really awesome for calligraphy, I guess. Not worth picking up a couple extra pens for me though. I believe the new to Goulet De Atramentis Document line and the Parker Quink Permanent are the only dye-based permanent inks not made by Nathan that Goulet sells. Iron gall and pigmented inks also tend to have some permanent elements, but there are downsides to those with clogging, and in the case of iron gall ink they can cause damage if you let them sit in a pen too long. The pigmented inks tend to be neat colors, though of course as Goulet no longer has a contract with Sailor they do not sell my favorite pigmented ink, Sailor Sei-boku.
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Aug 21, 2014 01:05
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oh jeeze oh jeeze I'm so excited I don't even know which to start with, I might need a second pen to test these out in.  
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Aug 21, 2014 01:42
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I bought like 5 or 6 samples of ink when I got my Safari and they've been doing a great job sitting in my desk unused. I'm the worst, I just like regular noodler's black
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Aug 22, 2014 20:19
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Can anyone recommend a calligraphy dip pen? I have a couple stub nib pens and Pilot Parallels, but it'd be nice to have something I can test inks with a bit easier (and I'd like to practice my blackletter.)
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Aug 22, 2014 21:29
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Followed the thread advice and bought a Pilot Metro (M). At first I was really happy with it, but now I after a few days I am noticing that the thing is having a really hard time starting, on pretty much every word. I am completely unable to print with it, but I am working on practicing my cursive anyway so that's not the problem. The skipping is so bad when I go back to cross my T's only have the cross gets drawn. I am noticing that it is far worse a few sentences after first uncapping it, then it will skip really bad for a few sentences then get a little better again. I am also noticing more and more "creep" (that's the term for ink coming out the slit right?). Is my pen hosed? Am I just "doing it wrong?" Something that really stuck out to me is that when it is in a skipping mood, giving it a down-stroke will get it going for the rest of the word, so I guess I just need to train myself to cross my t's from right to left. That wont help with dotted I's or periods though, those are hopeless and I need to make a circular motion for quite a while to get ink out.
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Aug 22, 2014 22:44
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1.) What ink are you using? 2.) Did you clean out the pen with soapy water before inking it up the first time? Some inks don't like some pens. It's something that requires experimentation. New pens still have oils and stuff on the nib and feed from the machining they got at the factory and that has to be cleaned off first. Just use the converter to swish some water with a drop of dish soap mixed in until both goes in and comes out clear. I'm going to put this at the top of the OP because goddamn, like 80% of the questions we get are dirty pens.
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Aug 22, 2014 23:20
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Uh, Private Reserve Velvet Black I think. I did not wash the pen before I loaded it, I will give that a shot when I get home today. Soapy water and not just water. Thanks.
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Aug 22, 2014 23:43
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Is your feed loose? I had the same issue and resolved it by pushing my feed back into place. I guess it worked its way loose bouncing around in my bag. I had some pretty good nib bleed too which I attribute to the same cause. That and Noodler's.
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Aug 23, 2014 00:09
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Baller Witness Bro posted:I bought like 5 or 6 samples of ink when I got my Safari and they've been doing a great job sitting in my desk unused. I'm the worst, I just like regular noodler's black You should use a glass dip pen for trying new inks, and to take your pretense to new levels. http://www.gouletpens.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=glass+dip&Submit=
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Aug 23, 2014 06:37
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VendoViper posted:Uh, Private Reserve Velvet Black I think. I did not wash the pen before I loaded it, I will give that a shot when I get home today. Soapy water and not just water. Thanks. PR is very pigment dense and likes to dry up in the nib. Flushing it again with soapy water should get it writing properly but it'll occasionally be hard to start.
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Aug 23, 2014 14:17
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