First-time fountain pen?

I'm a high-school student, with a $75/wk. salary, so I'm not looking to
get an expensive pen, but I'm getting or getting myself a journal this
Christmas holiday, something I've procrastinated a long time, and I want
it to look worthy of showing to my posterity, so I've decided to get a
fountain pen. Now, there are several issues:

1. I've never used a fountain pen before.
2. I'm left-handed, and don't want to smear as I write.
3. I know that many of them are expensive, though I am willing to
splurge a bit.

Naturally, I have some questions:
Are there any special guidelines to follow when writing with a fountain
pen rather than a ballpoint or gel pen? Should I get a pen with an
inkwell instead of a fountain pen? How do I deal with my
left-handedness? Do I need to buy some kind of left-handed pen? And
last, what are some good budget fountain pens I can look into?

--
Iain Dalton

I'm left-handed, and I use either of a Parker Jotter or a Waterman
Hemisphere. Neither of them are problematic for writing in the correct
hand, but of course, one has to choose paper sensibly. Paper that
doesn't absorb and leaves ink wet is as usual unsuitable for writing on.

Hi Ian,

To get your fingers inky, I suggest you go to your local office supply house
and look for some of the cheap disposable fountain pens. Usually less than
$5.00 each in these parts.

I've found that they write surprisingly well.. You can get a feel for how
the left hand is going to work before you splurge into a daily user.

I'm a lefty with a moderate hook. If i'm in a hurry, I wind up with ink on
my hand and smudges on the paper.. But most of the time, no problem. One of
the joys of writing with a Fountain pen is that it allows you to slow down
and think about what you're going to put on paper.

Don't rule out some of the vintage pens. IMHO, the Parker 51 is among the
smoothest ever made. Also like the Pelikans, the Parker 75's, the Omas, the
...... well it's addictive.

Regards, Mike

"Ian Tindale" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm left-handed, and I use either of a Parker Jotter or a Waterman
Hemisphere. Neither of them are problematic for writing in the correct
hand, but of course, one has to choose paper sensibly. Paper that
doesn't absorb and leaves ink wet is as usual unsuitable for writing on.

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:03:31 -0800, Iain Dalton "iain [dot] dalton [at]
gmail [dot] com" wrote:

I'm a high-school student, with a $75/wk. salary, so I'm not looking to
get an expensive pen,

eBay. Parker 51 with the aerometric (press bar) filler or else a
'50s/'60s Sheaffer - a tip-dip, not a Snorkel (unless you find a cheap
Snorkel). Either of these is generally reliable, so buying random ones
from eBay is a fairly safe bet (of course you're still buying something
decades-old and unseen....). Older Parker Duofolds are nice too,
especially the very decorative pre-war models, but IMHO the 51 is still
the one.

The Waterman Phileas / Kultur isn't bad either, if you want to buy new.

You'll be wanting more pens soon anyway 8-)

1. I've never used a fountain pen before.

They don't bite. Feed them Parker Quink for starters - blue,
blue-black or black, according to taste. You can inter-mix these if you
don't like their shade.

You can also fool around with the boutique inks like Diamine (UK) or
Noodlers (US). These give a vast range of colours. Noodlers also make
some more specialised archival inks - not sure if they do a fast-drying
left-hander? Might be a nice idea if they did though.

As to nib choice, then any standard good-quality smooth writing nib
that's in good condition will work fine for you. A worn nib tends to
wear into the owner's own hand and that would be a problem swapping
right to left-handed. Some models are a bit fussy about writing angle
anyway (not the ones mentioned). A broad nib will tend to be wetter and
that can be a nuisance for left-handers.

If you're really stuck with a nib you don't like, then most popular
pens, even the older ones, can be re-nibbed affordably. Internationally,
Parkers are probably the best for this.

2. I'm left-handed, and don't want to smear as I write.

This is more about the paper than the pen or the ink.

IMHE, don't buy US paper (or Chinese paper aimed at the US market). Or
at least if you do, you'll have a harder time finding good fountain-pen
friendly paper than you do in Europe. In recent years our cheap
imported journals and notebooks have switched over to what I regard as
"US style" (because it's the paper I see if I'm in the US). Heavily
glazed, heavily bleached white, ultra-smooth surface, and any rulings
are done with printed black dots that don't span the full width.
European paper is heavier, softer, more absorbent and ruled with
full-width grey lines. When European paper cuts corners it goes
whiskery, when US paper is too cheaply made, it never dries.

Tomorrow I'm off on an expedition right across town to stock up on
Moleskines, just because they're the best fountain-pen friendly
notebooks I know.

Andy Dingley wrote:
Tomorrow I'm off on an expedition right across town to stock up on
Moleskines, just because they're the best fountain-pen friendly
notebooks I know.

Actually, that's what I'm planning on buying, too. I want a journal
worthy of passing on to posterity, and I've heard good reports of the
moleskines. Does it matter if the moleskine is ruled or not? A
non-ruled one would look better, but as a practicality one might need
rules to keep one's writing straight.

I use both ruled and blank. Ruled for writing, certainly. The blank sheets I
use for sketches, diagrams and quick notes.

Welcome to the group.

Gordon

On 6 Dec 2005 15:48:58 -0800, "Iain Dalton"
wrote:

Does it matter if the moleskine is ruled or not?

Personal choice.

I prefer the European style of ruling (grey lines) because you can write
or draw across them more legibly, should you have to.

Andy Dingley wrote:
I prefer the European style of ruling (grey lines) because you can write
or draw across them more legibly, should you have to.

Too bad my local Barnes & Noble doesn't stock those. Do you live in
Europe, or have you found a store that sells them?

--
Iain Dalton

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 08:11:15 -0800, Iain Dalton "iain [dot] dalton [at]
gmail [dot] com" wrote:

Do you live in Europe, or have you found a store that sells them?

Bristol, UK. Sadly my favoured Moleskine shop had _every_ sort of
Moleskine on the shelves today except for plain ruled ones with the
hinge on the long side, in either size 8-( They even had Japanese
Album fan-fold versions and music notebooks.

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:03:31 -0800, Iain Dalton "iain [dot] dalton
[at] gmail [dot] com" wrote:

I'm a high-school student, with a $75/wk. salary, so I'm not looking to
get an expensive pen, but I'm getting or getting myself a journal this
Christmas holiday, something I've procrastinated a long time, and I want
it to look worthy of showing to my posterity, so I've decided to get a
fountain pen. Now, there are several issues:

1. I've never used a fountain pen before.
2. I'm left-handed, and don't want to smear as I write.
3. I know that many of them are expensive, though I am willing to
splurge a bit.

Naturally, I have some questions:
Are there any special guidelines to follow when writing with a fountain
pen rather than a ballpoint or gel pen?

Fountain pens need to be flushed out every so often with warm water
and a touch of soap just to keep dried ink from building up inside.

Should I get a pen with an
inkwell instead of a fountain pen? How do I deal with my
left-handedness?

With a fountain pen, you might have to adjust how your hand moves
across the paper as the ink fries. However, gel rollerballs can create
the same problem.

Do I need to buy some kind of left-handed pen? And
last, what are some good budget fountain pens I can look into?

No, ya don't need a left-handed pen. As for pens types. there are
bunches and bunches, myself, I'll confess to being a Parker bigot. You
can pick up a Parker 45 Flighter on Ebay for around $25 - 30 USD, plus
shipping costs. Excellent writer, uses either a cartridge, or has a
slide converter that allows you to use bottled ink and it is a snap to
use, even one handed.

--
Iain Dalton


Check out this place, there are a BUNCH of friendly, helpful folks
there. there are also lots of pen reviews and scanned, or photographed
samples of how many pens write. Just watch out for James Pickering,
his writing will drive you mad! *wink*

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/

Regards,

Bruce
Hitting reply is futile, use the following:
).