Fountain Pens

**GMan** · 6th January 11, 04:51 PM

I have a total of 10. I gravitate toward my Waterman's however for every day use Lamy is great.

**Maclachlan** · 17th January 11, 03:01 AM

After all the talk about the fountain pens I decided to give one a shot myself.

Here is a Parker style with a German Iridium nib. The wood is a box elder dyed purple.

I gave it to my niece who is a published author and she gave it two thumbs up!

**Schiehallion** · 17th January 11, 04:49 AM

I use a Vintage Parker in blue marbled body, from the 1930's

**Iain Robb** · 17th January 11, 09:08 AM

I've used a variety of fountain pens -- Waterman, Diplomat, Parker, Schaeffer, LePine, and more. And the only pens I have ever found to be a complete delight to use are Pelikans.

I currently use a Pelikan 200 series with a 14K gold Richard Binder custom ground oblique italic bold nib. It writes the way I want a fountain pen to write, fills beautifully, works reliably.

If I have thought that if I were to buy another fountain pen, it would likely be a Pelikan with a fine gold nib, which would be more suited to everyday use in terms of the amount of ink used. But I suspect I would still gravitate to my bold italic nib for the "character" it brings to my handwriting.

**Old Hippie** · 17th January 11, 03:23 PM

Well, there's my Dad's old Military Clip Shaeffer that I had restored...but it's not my regular user.

My favourite pen, bar none, is the Pilot Vanishing Point. It has a nice gold nib (I prefer extra fine nibs) and it is easy to refill. It also is more durable than most other fountain pens I've used, and I can access it with one hand instead of grunting and muttering and uncapping with my teeth and then trying to post.

The other advantage is that, as a writer who interviews people, I can click it to note something, then click it to "cap" it until the next bit comes along. After a little while, my source undergoes a Pavlovian conditioning that causes them to say things I will find profitable to write down. They receive a certain validation from regular and frequent clicks. (My students, on the other hand, appreciate the friendly purple ink I use to point out their errors...)

I have some pens I bought in China while I was teaching there -- not bad for a steel nib but quality is spotty at best, pardon the pun. You can get them for five bucks at most pen shows. I have a couple of my Dad's pens, which I use occasionally. My wife loves her Parkers, but I tend to reach first for the Pilot.

There's some interesting pens on the Noodler's Ink site. Not expensive but good quality. Then we can start talking inks...

**Maclachlan** · 15th February 11, 07:23 PM

Here are some pens ordered by one of our members for Clan Lamont. Their plant badge is crabapple and these are spalted crabapple.

**Brian K** · 18th February 11, 12:57 PM

I have been a fountain pen lover since my teen years - 40 years or so. I have a MontBlanc Diplomat (N0. 149) I purchased nearly 20 years ago for just under $300.00 (I was actually making a decent living back then) and it would take nearly $700.00 to replace it now and my understanding is that the pens now are not as good. I had tried other pens, including other MBs, but this by far is the best I've used. It's large (really large!) sturdy and writes like a dream. The cement that holds the section and the barrel together has come loose recently but there is nothing wrong with it mechanically and as soon as I can afford to get it repaired it will be back in service. This will be the first thing I have ever had to have done to it in all the time I've had it and I've used it a lot.

I have another pen I use frequently which is a nearly 100 year old Waterman that belonged to my great-grandmother. I had to have the bladder replaced about 15 years ago but it is still a wonderful pen.

The one thing that fries me is that it is harder and harder to find pens that fill only from a bottle at a reasonable price. Most pen nowadays are cartridge only or cartridge/converter. I just don't think a REAL fountain pen needs to be disassembled to refill it! I assume a lot of people are afraid of a little messiness but in the long run filling from a bottle is more economical that cartridges and a wider variety of ink colors is available.

I also like Jim's suggestion of a dip pen. I have several I inherited from a family friend who taught me Spencerian script. They don't look like much but anything written with them looks special.

Regards,

Brian

**Brian K** · 21st February 11, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by Tobus

Where does one find a dip pen and ink pot and quills and such? That would be fun to try.

Tobus,

I slipped a cog when I first read your post, but I think I have an answer for you.

A lot of art supply stores can provide you with what you're looking for but modern pen points are not the same as older ones because they're usually used for artistic or technical applications rather than letter writing.

Contact Sam Fiorella at Pendemonium ( sam@pendemonium.com ). She and her husband run a pen business in Fort Madison, IA. They specialize in fountain pens and ink but they also have a great selection of vintage items, including pen points and holders. I received an e-mail from them today about a limited selection of them bottled and including a holder and it reminded me of your inquiry.

Regards,

Brian