Tell me everything I need to know about fountain pens, buying one that doesn’t cost $500 and writing with one.
Thanks.
do you like blotchy ink stains on your fingers and clothes?
Fountain pens come in several kinds:
Cartridge pens use a cylendrical, disposable reservoir of ink, which you buy from the manufacturer. Shaeffer makes one brand, but theyre might be others.
Lever-filled and bulb-filled pens have an internal ink reservoir, which is filled by a built-in pump–you dip the pen in a bottle of ink, and then pump it full.
Dip pens consist of a nib that has to be regularly dipped in ink; occassionally there is a small steel spring which holds a bubble of ink, lessening the need for redipping.
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I can’t think of any more kinds, but there might be.
The advantages of the cartidge is that it’s easy, and not very messy. The disadvantage is that you’re tied to one manufacturer, and a very small range of inks.
Calligraphers tend to use dip pens–you have the greatest control over colour and ink flow, and the nibs are the easiest to clean, but they aren’t very portable–you have to carry a bottle of ink wherever you go.
The various reservoir pens are where the action is. These are portable and you can fill them with almost any ink. With a tight lid, they can safely ride in your pocket without ruining your suit.
The thing with pens is that they have become a kind of jewelry for men. Almost none of the (substantial) cost of most pens has anything to do with the writing technology; it's just an avenue for ostentatious display.
Despite the marketing bumf, there is almost no significant difference between a $15 plastic and an $500 platinum model.
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Nibs, however, come in different shapes.
Most pens intended for writing (as opposed to calligraphy) have either a very slight ball on the tip, or a very moderate chisel-tip. If you are used to ballpoints, buy the former; if you have trained handwriting, you might want to try out the latter, if you can find one.
Chisel tips are a way to vary the thickness of your strokes, so that downstrokes are wider that crossstrokes. Look at almost any italic font to see the effect.Saying that there’s no difference in a $15 and a $500 pen isn’t exactly accurate. More money does buy you a better pen, to a point. In a fountain pen, there are two main considerations, the body and then nib. The body is jewelry, if you get a $3000 pen, the money is in making things shiny.
The nibs, from what I can gather, do get better as you spend more, topping off at something like $100. The good ones (Pelikan and others) are made of gold and rhodium (okay, so they’re shiny too.) The idea is that these are hand finished, making them write smoothly, and flexible, which lets you have fun writing. Last year I toyed with the idea of getting a pen, and was recommended to nibs.com – as far as I can tell it’s a guy in California who customises inibs and pens.
Then, if you’re dirty cheap, there are dip pens. If all you want is to play with something that’s not a ballpoint, dip pens are the way to go. As the name suggests, there isn’t a resevoir – you have to constantly dip the nib in ink – but the pens cost ~$10 and the nibs can be had for maybe $2 a piece.
The idea is that these are hand finished, making them write smoothly, and flexible, which lets you have fun writing.
While there might be a tiny amount of truth to this statement, I think there is far more hype than truth.
I don’t think there’s any significant difference between a well-made steel nib and a gold-plated one.
I doubt most purchasers could tell the difference in a blind test, but I could be wrong.
A “deluxe” dip pen nib can be had for perhaps five dollars, so I cannot think of a good reason for a pelikan reservoir pen’s nib to cost twenty --let alone a hundred–times as much.
And you think WHoA is bad
If you want to ask questions and solicit user experiences, try the Pentrace Message board at http://www.pentrace.net/mboard.htm Pentrace is a very enthusiastic community, always willing to assist and encourage the new comer (although not always in agreement about what constitutes good advice)
Excellent technical information is available from Richard Binder at http://richardspens.com/ Everything you ever wanted to know about nibs and pens, and very well written.
Finally, and most importantly, if at all possible visit a good pen store or go to a pen show. There is nothing like trying a variety of pens to see what you like and what feels good in your hand.
You will let us know what you end up choosing, won’t you?
Tom McG
You might want to get started with a training model. You can see some at www.officedepot.com. The price, 2.69, is RIGHT and it comes in an exciting variety of colors! Including pink. Pilot has good pens overall, so I would imagine that this one is ok.
When I transferred to a Catholic school in 4th grade, I was impressed to discover that they only used pencil (the skinny ones, too) in kindergarten. After that, everybody used fountain pens. Schaeffers with disposable cartridges, black or blue-black, washable ink. No bottles of ink allowed. No permanent ink allowed. Ballpoints were not allowed, felt tips were not allowed, pencils were not allowed, and even crayons were not allowed. This school featured exactly zero pencil sharpeners. We even did math in fountain pen. You were allowed one . . . yup, one . . . neat line-out per page. No erasable ink, either. Thinking ahead was encouraged.
And, yes, do think smudged fingers and stains on your clothes. They are fine until they leak, and then they continue leaking no matter what. That’s why I think the disposable models might be just the ticket.
You can’t just scribble with a fountain pen. They don’t write in all directions like a felt tip or ball point. The point has to be lined up with the page in the right direction, not mashed too hard, angled just right, and then you scratch away. Avoid digging holes in the paper.
Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. You may have to buy better-quality writing paper. Some of the cheapies aren’t glazed well. The ink will wick through to the back, will wick out along the fibers (making your writing thick and fuzzy), and fibers will get caught and collect in the split that’s down the middle of the nib. They’ll eventually form a little ball, which will mop ink all over as you write, so remember to keep cleaning that out.
Kleenex will get caught in there, too, so don’t use Kleenex. I used to use the hem of my tartan plaid skirt. If you do it on the black part, it’s not too visible.
Don’t make any sudden moves when you’re holding it, either. Gravity kind of has a bad effect on them–ink blurts out. It’s capable of going all the way across a classroom if you sling it right.
Gosh, I sure do miss them.
If you need to know how to make book covers out of paper grocery bags, let us know. Lots of experience with that . . .
Pilot® Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen, Extra-Fine Point, 0.4 mm, Black
Traditional fountain pen quality and style — with modern disposable convenience
Easy-to-use fountain pens at a throwaway price. This completely disposable fountain pen provides the smooth flow and feel of a fountain pen, yet offers the inexpensive convenience of a ballpoint.
Fine 0.4 mm point for precision, clarity. The extra-fine fountain pen nib writes a crisp, clean, fine line — small and distinct enough to get you into the smallest of spaces!
Pure liquid ink guarantees an exceptionally smooth stroke. Enjoy the luxury of silky smooth, expressive lines. Pilot’s innovative liquid ink technology gives you a velvety write.
Ink monitoring window maximizes pen life. Don’t waste a drop! Just look into the ink reservoir window to see how much you have left.
Nonrefillable.
If I get one, I shall.
Oh, to be young again. I used fountain pens all through college and I really can’t say why except they seemed so cool at the time, despite the mess. I always just had the cheap kind, with the plastic tube, though I did use the old-fashioned kind for music copying.
I currently think gel pens are pretty groovy. But its hard to imagine “War and Peace” or something being penned with a teeny-bopper glitter gel.
Pilot P-700s rule in this class for everyday use, thus far. Everybody keeps stealing them at work.
Mmmmmmm . . . www.levenger.com has all sorts of pens . . . ooooooh!
Yes, if I get one it’ll probably be online as I’d never even heard of a pen store until today. I’ve never seen an Office Depot, either, but I know what they are.
I used to love fountain pens, but they are going the way
of the passenger pigeon. They appear to survive
as Executive Toys. Now I just type on computers.
I found that Parker Jotter ball point pens enable me
to write quite nicely, so, when I have to handwrite,
I use one of those, or anything else that’s around.
When I went to grade school the desks had ink wells
built in…
They are dying out, and it’s terribly terribly sad. See…I also still write paper letters, even if the people to whom I write do not write back. I cannot let the art of letter writing die out. People should use fountain pens (my therapist does, and has a big bottle of ink, and I find it extremely fascinating and cool).
The dip pens are just basically a stick with a point, right?
Do they actually write? Is it harder to write well with one?
They seem so simple, I want one, but I fear they won’t function well…
I’ve used both fountain and dip pens for years. I would never use a dip pen for regular writing. Constantly returning to the ink well to get ink takes a lot more time, but for decrative work (writing or drawing) it’s the way to go. Dip pens can take a little to get use to using. The dip has to be just right to start the flow properly until the next dip, but after you get the hang of this, it becomes second nature. If you do try dip pens, though, make sure to get a good nib. Many of the mass market, hobby store nibs do not let ink flow properly straight out of the package. I’ve used them in a pinch, but they require a little tweeking and don’t hold up as well. I actually wish I could find more glass dip pens because they are my favorite to work with.
If you want to try a dip pen, the investment is minimal–go to an art supply store and buy a b1 nib ($2) a holder ($3) and a bottle of ink ($5).
As the previous poster mentioned, this isn’t really a great writing implement (although it was used as such for years and years), but its unparalleled for calligraphy or drawing.
This is the device that’s really the first improvement on a goose quill in a thousand years.
Push the nib into the end of the holder (a stick with a clamp-thingy in the end) and dip it into the ink. Make sure you hold the pen nib on a 30 to 45 degree angle to the page–ie, on a line from lower left to upper right. try and keep your wrist off the paper; the grease will rub off on the paper and will blur your writing whenyou get to that part. I used to keep a spare sheet of paper under my hand. The medieval scribes solved that problem differently–they didn’t work on desks, but on drawing boards which were nearly vertical (70 degrees or so), and they held their pens the way an artist holds a paintbrush, not (as we do) they way you hold a pencil.
So when you have the pen dipped, draw a stroke or two on a piece of scrap, until the flow of ink evens out, and then try writing something.
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It’s important to know that this kind of pen is designed to write on the draw–that is towards you–or from side to side, so you need to learn a different technique than with a ballpoint. Trying to push the pen away from you will make it skip or splatter. You write circles (Os) in two strokes, for instance.
It seems like this topic came up before. Someone posted a link to a pen collector site. Maybe I’m wrong.
I used to use the dip pens back when I drew comic strips. Ah the days.
When I was learning how to use my lathe, I made quite a few pens as practice projects, and still make them from time to time as gifts. Several were fountain pens which came out quite nice in various exotic hardwoods. Here is what one of them looks like:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?DeptID=1011&FamilyID=1561
The nib may not be up to a connoisseur’s standards, but they worked fine for me.
… and if you popped out the little metal cup you could see the answers to the spelling test though the hole in the desk. 
P.S. I found that the all glass pens were not the best to write with. Just nice to look at.