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Hello everyone! Just joined the forums. Still very new to nice pens and writing with them. I'm really enjoying it, struggling to find things worthy of being written. I started with a set of Pilot Metropolitans a few years ago, I think it was an impulse buy mostly, upon seeing them on amazon. I bought a medium nib black metro and a medium nib silver metro. (not sure why i bought the same nib) A bottle of parker quink to fill them and I was all set. I must have only used them a few times as I never realized even how to properly use them (writing angles, storage, refilling). They were sitting in my a drawer for the past few years and i just recently pulled them out to give them a go. Still working perfectly. You'll laugh, but until a few weeks ago i didn't understand how the converter works. The included con-20 is the one I have been using. I hadn't realized you dipped the nib and squeezed the converter. I had been removing the converter, filling it outside of the pen by dipping and squeezing it. Obviously this made a huge mess when the converter was installed back onto the body. It took a few weeks of regular use for me to figure it out! About a month ago i looked for a broad nib i could purchase and found the 78g. I'm a fan of the weight of the metro but having no broad nib available for it and also having two identical nib's i purchased the 78g solely to swap the broad nib onto the metro. It's worked out well and i thoroughly enjoy the embellished style brought on by the broad nib. Just forayed into the pilot con-40 and it has only been installed for a few hours, but it seems to work well, the rattling of the agitators aren't a concern to me. Happened upon the pilot vanishing point series and now have my first $150 pen on its way in an extra fine nib. Very excited to use it in the coming years. I'll be going to college and I plan on it being used in daily classroom writing. The various inks available are tempting but as I still have a half jar of black parker ink and an almost full jar of the red parker, it just wouldn't be practical (but then again, when talking about fountain pens, is any of this really about practicality?). The Pilot Iroshuzuku series of inks are so beautiful, but a full bottle isn't what I need right now, so I settled with a sampler of a few of the colors. Really excited to continue using these pens and collect more in the future. Didn't mean this introduction to turn into a memoire, but it saved me the effort of telling this story over and over slowly as i talk to others here. Not really even sure why I joined the forums, haven't been a part of a forum before so it shall be interesting. I look forward to talking with you all! -Daniel Heckman

I have been thinking about starting a Sacramento area pen group and now that I skipped this semester of college I have more time to make it happen between now and September when I have to go back. I would like to see who would be interested. You don't have to be a Sacramento resident but I want to have an option for a group for people in and around Sacramento who can't make it to the bay area group get togethers. Who's in?!

Yeah! I didn´t realize it could be a good idea to drop some lines here, at FPN, which is a pity, as we´re flying back to Spain tomorrow in the afternoon, so it´s only today that we can search for shops and/or Friends related to our common hobby We´re visiting the States (actually we are in Sacramento, California), so I was wondering if there´s any shop/place I should visit before flying back... It´s a pleasure visiting you back, sirs Have a nice day!

Hello! Craig here from Orange County California! I am extremely new to the world of fountain pens but I found it in a really cool way. When I was young, I had a family friend who gave me unique Christmas and birthday gifts. I received a LeBoeuf pencil one year and the next was a sterling silver dip pen. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2008 from a long battle with lung cancer. He was a world traveler, and hailed originally from Portugal. Now 8 years later we are still finding things he collected. Digging around in an old box, I pulled out 3 pens. A green Celluloid Pelikan 400 from the 50s, an all stainless French made Waterman, and a mid-70s Sheaffer. This was on July 25th. Now just a few weeks later, I have a TWSBI Mini, a Noodler's Konrad, a Vintage Conklin Glider, and have just picked up a Waterman's 52 1/2 V! I feel like I am just getting started and at 28 years old, I have tons more collecting to do! I look forward to learning as much as I can from this community! Attached is all of my pens/pencils. The 1935 Mickey Mouse pencil was also in that box! Hope everyone has a great August! Cheers! -Craig

Hey all, So I am pretty new at fountain pens. I currently only have 3 pens, but only really use 1 at the moment. Pens: Pilot Metro (current and favorite atm) Pilot Custom 74 TWSBI Vac 700 Reason I'm posting is I am looking for local groups I can travel to to meet new people, and a reliable repair guy for FP's. Both my Custom 74 and Vac 700 need Nib flow adjustment and I am too afraid to mess something up on my new pens!! I actually have not really been able to write with the 74 or 700 because the tines are too taught/close together so i have to exert too much force to get a nice flow going. Any recommendations on where I can get my FP nib tune near the SF/Livermore area? I have not been able to find many current posts about reliable repair shops/guys. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!Look forward to meeting you guys and becoming a fountain pen aficionado. Sincerely, Crushin

Hello. I have been watching this forum off and on for a couple of years but finally recently joined. I am in Sacramento, California. I use fountain pens almost exclusively for drawing and sketching. I very much enjoy and appreciate reading all the marvelous posts and learning from this forum. I hope to humbly contribute a bit back, perhaps in the form of reviews for others here who love to draw with pen and ink, as thanks to you all for this wonderful resource you have all built!

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Okay I am just going to put this out there and see if anyone is interested in coming! I am planning on reserving the meeting room at the Elk Grove Public Library on Saturday, October 25th. Two times available are from 10:00 am to 11:30 am or 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Any preferences? Please voice them! I need to reserve the room and time asap, so if anyone is interested in attending please let me know as soon as you can. I planned this a couple months in advance hoping it will help people plan who want to come. I will be there whether or not anyone else shows. It is a nice library and I have no problem sitting and reading. But I would be so delighted if anyone else wanted to join me and show their pens and ink! I hope this day will work for other folks. If you want to come but this day isn't good for you, just let me know. I can change it to a different date! Thank you and I hope to see you there! The Elk Grove Public Library is located at 8900 Elk Grove Blvd. Elk Grove, CA 95624

There is currently no group for those of us in the Sacramento area who love fountain pens, so let's create our own group! I think first we need to figure how many folks are in the area that would be interested in meeting. Then we can select a date, time and location to meet. I don't mind helping organize some of the details; but I would just love to hear feedback from those of you who live in the area and would be interested in getting together. If anyone is interested in being involved in a FPN group here in Sacramento please let us hear your thoughts!

Are there any groups for collectors in the Northern California area? Especially in the Sacramento area? I am also looking for local area pen shows.