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Innovation in Fountain Pens



 
 
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  #61  
Old January 8th 04, 02:34 PM
Edo
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On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 03:01:24 +0100, Marten van de Kraats
wrote:

There is certainly nothing exotic about fountain pens in this part of the
world


Indeed. I don't know much about the rest of Europe, but when I was at
'lagere school' (junior high) in the Netherlands twenty years ago, we
*had* to write with a (school-supplied) fountain pen, using something
called 'method handwriting'. I remember feeling quite odd (not to mention
liberated) when I was suddenly allowed to use a rollerball again when I
went to high school at age 12...

And then when I graduated high school some six years later they gave me a
fountain pen as a goodbye present! It was a very simple Parker FP, but ten
years on I still use that cute little thing. Writes as smoothly as any
$200+ pen I have...

All writers use pens to some extent. Most of them mainly use word
processors, but quite a lot still use pens for draft texts.


True. I'd much rather sit in a cafe with a pen and a real notebook (those
moleskines are great!) than with a laptop.

Mind you, whenever I am working on a piece of text in a professional
capacity, I prefer using a computer: hand-written documents are simply not
as *convenient* as digital files, and I hate typing things out that I have
already drafted by hand.

For proof corrections, I prefer a mechanical pencil - I enjoy that
'precise' feeling they give. And I got a dip pen ('kroontjespen') and some
India ink on a whim yesterday, which is great for just scribbling nonsense
and lines of poetry - even my awful handwriting becomes *alive* when I use
one of those!

All these technologies have their uses and pleasures, I guess. Variety is
the spice of life.

Edo
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  #62  
Old January 8th 04, 08:34 PM
kcat
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 22:29:16 -0600, Tim McNamara
wrote:

Marten van de Kraats writes:

I don't know how things are in the US/UK.


In the US, fountain pens are very rare. I manage to amaze some
cashier at least a couple of times a week. "Wow, what kind of pen is
that!?!" as I write a check (cheque).


rare in the wild yes. I think too, viewed largely as "frivolous" -
people here (US) don't understand that there is more to an FP than
it's looks or "status." I think they are even less used in my area -
Houston, TX - though I'm told you can go outside the city and find
them in the wild quite easily. I noted the other day that one of our
big office supply stores no longer sells their only FP - the Waterman
Phileas. that's sad.


  #63  
Old January 8th 04, 09:41 PM
Marten van de Kraats
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In the US, fountain pens are very rare. I manage to amaze some
cashier at least a couple of times a week. "Wow, what kind of pen is
that!?!" as I write a check (cheque).


rare in the wild yes. I think too, viewed largely as "frivolous" -
people here (US) don't understand that there is more to an FP than
it's looks or "status." I think they are even less used in my area -
Houston, TX - though I'm told you can go outside the city and find
them in the wild quite easily. I noted the other day that one of our
big office supply stores no longer sells their only FP - the Waterman
Phileas. that's sad.


Are things like this everywhere in the USA or could it be that it
differs from state to state?

Marten
  #64  
Old January 9th 04, 02:09 AM
so what
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Are things like this everywhere in the USA or could it be that it
differs from state to state?


Hi Marten,

If you are asking about availability, It differs from state to state. I think
there are no pen shops in the state of Oklahoma. I know of one or two in Texas
(Airline International, and another one, I think). Glenn Marcus lists the
fountain pen shops in the USA and Canada, as well as some in other countries.

If you are talking about use, well... I get various comments:
"A fountain pen! Wow, I remember those! You can still get ink for that?"
"Nice pen. Hey, where's the ink? How'd you get it in there?"
"My grandfather had a pen like that a long time ago. Oh, I have no idea where
it is; he died about 15 years ago, so all that old stuff is gone."

satrap

  #65  
Old January 9th 04, 02:15 AM
Tim McNamara
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Marten van de Kraats writes:

In the US, fountain pens are very rare. I manage to amaze some
cashier at least a couple of times a week. "Wow, what kind of pen
is that!?!" as I write a check (cheque).


rare in the wild yes. I think too, viewed largely as "frivolous" -
people here (US) don't understand that there is more to an FP than
it's looks or "status." I think they are even less used in my area
- Houston, TX - though I'm told you can go outside the city and
find them in the wild quite easily. I noted the other day that one
of our big office supply stores no longer sells their only FP - the
Waterman Phileas. that's sad.


Are things like this everywhere in the USA or could it be that it
differs from state to state?


I think it's pretty much the standard in the US. The only other
person I can remember seeing "in teh wild" using a fountain pen was a
lawyer. I see a few doctor's notes that were obviously written with
a fountain pen (broad nib, with blue-black ink). I would guess that
major urban areas with lots of executives and lots of places to buy
pens might be a better place for pen-spotting. New York City, for
example.
  #67  
Old January 9th 04, 06:42 PM
kcat
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On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 21:41:17 +0100, Marten van de Kraats
wrote:


Are things like this everywhere in the USA or could it be that it
differs from state to state?

Marten


i haven't read Ms. Satrap's opinion yet - I think it's different based
on "region" vs. state. I'm told that in parts of TX (central) it's
easy to find vintage FPs and stores that carry a variety of them. In
my area there are three stores - but they sell only modern and really
aren't "pen" stores. TWo are by one company and a really upscale gift
stores that happen to carry MB and other pricey pens. The other is
the last in a family-owned chain that is crammed with office supplies
and pens and is probably the best of the lot but again, no vintage
bargains to be found. I've been to several area antique stores and
when you ask about old pens they just give you a blank look. But
again, I'm told that folks just outside of the city and in other parts
of the state have found them easily.

also - the general "feeling" about FPs is probably regional. It seems
like the east coast and midwest are where so many of our FP friends on
these forums live and/or grew up. I suspect the southwest is the most
FP barren area at least by what I've seen.


  #68  
Old January 9th 04, 06:45 PM
kcat
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On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 19:15:27 -0600, Tim McNamara
wrote:

a fountain pen (broad nib, with blue-black ink). I would guess that
major urban areas with lots of executives and lots of places to buy
pens might be a better place for pen-spotting. New York City, for
example.


you'd think - but in my years within the Houston city limits - nope.
but I think of Houston as a "young" city in many respect and I think
this impacts how it views vintage items of all sorts. The "antiques"
most often found in the many antique stores - will be furniture and
dishware and much of it is reproduction. There are still things to
discover but I don't think we have the history of east coast urban
areas nor the attachment to that history.
 




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