There is NOTHING that can beat the feel of a pen on paper – I just love my Waterman. Unfortunately Waterman have ceased producing the brown ink that I used to use and I’m down to a couple of month’s supply left of the Pelikan brown ink (not as nice/rich a colour). And no – no cartridges for me, thank you.
Shalom

Thanks for the tips. I have a cheapie like this kit.
It gets the job done well, but I will remember your suggestions. I am curious what your preferred ink is as mine tends to bleed through my moleskine notebook a bit if I am not quick; I am thinking about trying something different with the converter that came with the pen.

.7 mm HB pencil

I have a nice Waterman that needs repair, but I recently purchased a $20 German fountain pen (new) on Ebay and it is quite nice. That might be a less expensive way to see if fountain pens are for you.

Ode to my Z-Grip. 12 to a box. Clicks every time. Ink is smooth and color sublime. Fits in my chubby hand, guildes as it writes. And ink stays where it belongs. The end.

Scot,
As I read this post, I looked down at the Waterman that is on my desk. I received this as a Christmas present shortly after I began reading your blog. Your influence no doubt.
Thanks

Sheila bought me a Cross fountain pen for Christmas of 200–largley because of our conversation from your previous posts. I haven’t graduated to a Pelikan yet. But there is nothing like the sensual experience of writing with a fountain pen. They do leak though, from time to time. Two weeks ago I was doing a funeral and just seconds before the service began I pulled out my pen to write something and there was ink on the barrel I hadn’t noticed as I grasped it. I couldn’t go anywhere immediately to try and wash it off–so there–I had black (dried) ink on my hand to meet and greet people. If anyone has been around me at all the past year and a half, they become aware of the smudges of, ahem, “distinction.” But I will gladly bear the smudges for the sensual experience. Even in pen-writing, there are a sacramental moments for Protestants.

I cut that last number off–Christmas of 2006.

Well, having never written with a fountain pen, you’ll have to excuse my low-end preferences. My favorite pens are Pilot G2s (for everyday), and for special occasions I have a pen with no name that reminded Joel Willitts of his fountain pen. Perhaps someday I’ll graduate, but for now, I can get a box of twelve G2s for $13. =)

Heather,
Think of it this way: 6 boxes of those Pilot G2s and you’d have a fountain pen for life and no pollution of the world!

Fisher space pen.
I’ll use nothing else!

Scot,
Perhaps my friends can pool for a birthday gift! I never actually buy pens, though I have thought about it. It does sound like a good investment, and I would love to reduce my contribution to pollution.

I purchased one for my DH for our 20th anniversary and he loves it. I on the other hand am left handed and the smear just doesn’t seem to work for me.
Just a quick FYI hairspray (the old fashioned kind like “final net”) sprayed on leaks on fabric will help remove the gupe – haven’t tried it on ink yet, but it might help there too!

I have been reading your blog for the past 6 months or so, but not consistently. This is my first notice of comments about pens. I must add my amen.
I have my father’s Parker 51 pen/pencil set that he purchased just before WWII and also my pen from high school (now 40+ years ago), and another 4 or 5 that I have purchased since then. There is nothing quite like writing with a real “pen”. I keep one in my pocket with black ink and one on my desk with green ink. The green is for signatures that I want to be able to distinguish between the original and photocopies; I learned this from an attorney about 20 years ago.
Currently I need to find a good repair person as the nib on one of my pens is a bit out of alignment (my diagnosis) and tends to catch on paper more than I would like.

I spent a fortune on an Omas Arco that I bought from John Mottishaw (www.nibs.com). He tweaks the pens before he sends them out (and has good prices to boot). It is definitely the best fp I’ve ever used. Feels great, looks better and has a butter smooth fine point nib.

To me, there is nothing quite like the heft of a fine fountain pen. But – slouch that I am, I have gone to cart’s for ease of refill.
My wife gave me a Mont Blanc Starwalker for graduation from Seminary – quite a chunk of pen, and a joy to write with. Also, I have several Waterman resins, and the requisite Cross and Parker (newer editions), both purchased on trips to England, where handwriting is still a required class in their elementary and secondary education systems. Wish I could say my handwriting matched my pens…sadly…
I have found that the joy of multiple pens with multiple nibs and inks allows for a daily expression as things change. It is nothing to see sermon prep work in multiple colors – which tends to help me separate different trains of thought, as each day tends to have a definite slant in writing and research. So – by changing pens each time I start to prepare, I have definite breaks in thought patterns.
As to one comment – no rollerball pen can match a fountain pen for silky-smooth operation – well, have to disagree with you. There are wonderful refills for roller ball pens that do mirror – almost – a fountain pen for its feel on paper, lacking only the “spring” you get from a flexing nib…so they are there, but they cost.

Scot,
What is gupe? Do you mean goop? What? Are you saying ball point pens don’t use ink???? How do you feel about those little felt-tip thingies that come in everything from extra-fine to extra-wide? Can you go to heaven if you don’t use a fountain pen?
Inquiring minds want to know.

Bob, since you seem to be the spelling cop these days, I may be corrected — not sure if that is the spelling or not.
No, anyone who uses a Bic will spend ten decades in purgatory.
Felt-tip … another instance of marketing and pollution.

Cool post. I love a good pen!

Love the fountain pens- I was looking for something else in my old trunk in the garage last weekend, and ran across the pen that started it for me- one of a pen/pencil set (Parker?) that was given to my father in the ’50s, and he handed it on to me when I was a teen. Can’t use it now- it had a rubber inner tube that has disintegrated. Perhaps I will try to have it repaired in the future. Counting that one, I have five. That’s enough for this lass.
But the real problem is finding good paper that holds the ink line without bleeding. If anyone has stationery recommendations, I’d be happy to hear them.
Dana

Huh, you all sound like MAC users.

Julie bought me a royal blue Pelikan fountain pen. I love the feel of the weight and the whispered scratching sound as I write with it. Yet, alas and anon, I still use those purgatory-leaning gel pens, too. The things I ought not to do, I do…blah, blah, blah…

Dana,
Believe it or not, I have switched to 24-28# inkjet paper – it seems to hold ink better, as (supposedly) it is designed for printers using liquid ink. I have discovered, however, not all inkjet paper is the same – an office supply store manager actually told me that their paper all was the same, just with different labels and prices on it! But – HP, Office Depot 28#, and some of the heavier Hammermill has worked well – plus, at about $10 per ream, not a bad price. Unlined, of course…
Leo

Oh – and for Kent – I am a diehard PC user…MAC – putoouh! (spelling cop – how do you spell putoouh?)

Dana,
I bought some American Stationery paper just for fountain penned notes! (There was a day when most folks bought stationery.)

I have bought pads of Rhodia (brand name, made in France) paper at a university bookstore, or online. The pads come in various sizes and lines/grids and are very nice to write upon with a pen. The pads have a bright orange cover on front and back.

Thanks all!
Dana

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Scot,
I’m curious – are you right-handed? I’m left-handed, and was forced to use a fountain pen at secondary school (which, being translated, is ‘high school’). Since, in a culture that writes from left to right, the left-hander pushes rather than pulls the pen, they are often an object even of pain for some of us. If you can turn the paper at a 45-degree angle it stops smudging (otherwise it’s blotting paper every two or three words), but still the pen has to be pushed. The fitting of a left-handed nib does little to reduce the friction. I therefore use high-quality ballpoints (not cheap Biros, but decent Parkers) that are less likely to deposit a lake of sticky ink on the paper.
Sorry for being so serious!