Fountain Pens

[Orvis]

There are lots of good recommendations on this thread. As a collector, I prefer vintage pens (especially hard-rubber Watermans) with some flex to the nib. I have three Mont Blancs and with their stiff nibs they are great for modern writers who were trained to mash down on a ball-point while writing. As a recommendation for replacing the Mont Blanc, I'd go with a Pelikan or an Omas - they are pricey, but top-drawer, with some flex to the nib but enough stiffness to survive the occasional mashing! If you like vintage pens, there is a lot to choose from ($ to $$$$), but on the $ side I'd recommend pens like the Parker 21 (the inexpensive cousin of the gold-nibbed Parker 51) or an Esterbrook (they were cheap in their day and are sneered at by most collectors, but they have interchangeable steel nibs, are good writers and wear like iron!). I also like dipping pens and have a small collection of flexy gold-nib pens from the 19th c. which write thick/thin very nicely if I do my part. As part of my reenacting hobby, I use quill pens, too - always far less forgiving than even a metal-nib dip pen - but fun to use if you learn how to use them on the right kind of stationery.

One X-Marker recommended using alcohol to clean a fountain pen. As a long-time collector, I'd recommend against that! It can damage the internal parts of your pen. I'd recommend using only COLD water (with a drop or two of household ammonium for really tough jobs) to clean a pen out. Let it soak with the nib immersed in a glass of water for several hours - you'll see the old ink puddling on the bottom of the glass - and then fill/empty the pen with clean cold water until the water comes out clean - use a facial tissue to blot excess water from the nib. Then fill with ink and you should be ready to write. One exception to the above is Conway Stewart pens that have barrels made of casein (hardened milk curd) - if soaked in water (as above), the casein will dissolve in the water! If your pen will not clean up with the above treatment, then it may have been filled with drawing ink (contains shellac/laquer), which will irreparably clog up the ink feed channel when it dries. Fountain pen ink is water-based, so be sure any ink you use is for fountain pens.

If you're looking for pens, look on eBay (search for fountain pens), which auctions both modern and vintage pens. Google to see if there are going to be any pen shows near you - always a good source of pens if you know what you're looking for - but be advised that the dealers know exactly what they have and charge accordingly! You can also check with Fountain Pen Hospital, Farhneys, and other on-line pen dealers - they occasionally have sales.

I hope this helps in your search.

[Bob C]

I've always found fountain pens to be more trouble than they're worth. That aside, however, why not buy another of the kind that served you so well before?

[Maclachlan]

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]

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

[Iain Robb]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Mark Keeney]

Caran D'ache definitely my favorite.