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Hi all, the following photos were taken in a local supermarket. They are photos of a few of the entries that were submitted to a 2023 ‘Handwriting Competition’ for kids at the schools that are local to me, in the ‘Midlands’ of England. The competition was organised by the local ‘Rotary Club’. I note that the model that these children are being taught is not the one that was taught to me in the 1970s & 1980s. Those of you that have a keen eye for a waspy will notice that this model seems to cause children to have difficulty drawing the glyph for ‘f’ in such a way that it does not look like the glyph for ‘g’. And that some of these entries include spelling mistakes. The images are of writing samples from children who attend various local schools. One of these schools is the Middle School that I actually attended, although I did notice that the local Primary School that I attended had no entries in the display in this local supermarket. I am posting these images here because it engladdenned my heart to see that handwriting is still being taught in my local schools (in the English ‘Midlands’) in 2023 😉 Slàinte, M.

Hi, I' waiting for a about 100 years old pen in the irish mail. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/338365-just-bought-my-first-eyedropper-yesterday/?do=findComment&comment=4087865 Now I'm wondering what inks would match the time and style of the old Swan eyedropper. What inks were available around 1915 to 1925 in England (or the continental Europe)? Colors? Blue, blue-black and black only? Iron gall sure. Maybe some of you have old ink bottles or catalogues at hand. A second question is about finding modern inks with vintage look and behavior. Greetings and thank you for all ideas Jens

Hi folks, I got this Parker 51 from Ebay for a total of $70 including shipping. I'm trying to figure out of the nib is a medium or a broad. The pen is Made in England. If it's a Medium, it's quite a bit broader than my Made in England Parker 45 medium nib. What do you folks think? I am writing on Mnemosyne paper. Thanks! The nib says "14K" "585" "Parker" "Made in England" and I believe that's about it. I'm interested because I never thought I would love a nib that's this broad. It works well for speech outlines because it's easily legible.

Has anyone tried one of these Vindolanda pens made from 2000 year old oak dug up at the archaeological site in northeast England? I think its a cartridge converter pen. https://www.vindolanda.com/shop/vindolanda-wood-ink-pen From a Reddit post I found it looks like a F/M-ish nib. https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/csjvti/my_first_fountain_pen_made_by_david_wayper_out_of/

The pen that I'll be reviewing (or discussing) today is: "The Universal Pen Conway Stewart London No.489" I have had this pen for a bit over a month now, have used it everyday, and have found it to be a reliable writer. I managed to pick this pen up after doing some antique shop hunting, and managed to get it for only $23AUD. On that note, I think it is actually much better to go vintage pen hunting in person rather than online. It's more fun that way, not knowing what you'll find, and you probably end up with a nicer price, provided you're willing to do some relatively easy restoration work. This pen was made in England, in the late 1930s, so this is when fountain pens were generally moving away from the olympic-split style flex from the earlier period, and started featuring what I see as being *stiffer* nibs (though they still can produce very admirable amounts of line variation). It is made from a hard rubber, judging from the fact that what used to be black rubber has now faded to a dark brown, and also if you were to rub your finger on a patch of the pen and smell it, it should smell like old tires. It has a no.1, 14 carat gold nib, with what I see as a medium point (there's no markings in terms of size), and produces nice amounts of line variation. It also has an ebonite feed. Note how wide and deep the feed channel is. This means that this pen is an extremely wet writer (almost a firehose). This was very typical of vintage pens, requiring larger amounts of ink to accomodate for "flex writing". Also note the cutouts on the side. This allowed for any ink that had leaked out to be held, without dripping down the nib and forming blobs on the paper. I believe this was an attempt to mimic the spoon feed design from earlier Waterman pens, which were incredibly successful, and which was mimicked by many other pen companies. It also has a sac, very typical, and was filled via a lever on the side of the barrel. Also very typical. The pen itself is quite light, and is 131mm long capped, and 161mm posted. This pen can be posted very comfortably and securely, though whether you do so is all up to personal preference. a few notes: No, this pen is not for sale. This pen has been put through its paces, and has proved it's reliability by non-stop writing for 2 hours in English Exams, and a further 1.5 hours in that afternoon. It is VERY reliable. The iron gall ink used in the pen is wholly appropriate, due to many inks of the period being iron gall inks. Do not worry about the pen's current condition; it is part of a rigorous maintenance schedule, and is flushed out every single week. In addition, the ink used is formulated to be gentler on pens, and the pen itself, containing no metal parts excluding the gold nibs, easily stands up to it.

Hi, Im Matthew from Southport. Im 46 and have just started using fountain pens again. I got a Lamy Safari as a treat to myself in January for helping my son complete a 30 day handwriting challenge. Id wanted a Safari for ages, but couldnt justify is as I hardly write anything. Now, I keep a journal, have 2 Safaris and have rediscovered my old Parker 45 I had in school. Its now in full working order and in rotation. I guess my fascination for pens comes from my dad who does calligraphy, from luxury watches and from EDC. Hope this tells you what you need to know! Matthew

Hello again to all my FP friends, I've got two English-made Parker Duofold Juniors from the 1950s, both bought from different sellers in different countries. One has a medium nib and the other a broad oblique stub nib and both are the smoothest nibs imaginable. I mean, ridiculously butter smooth with some nice softness to boot. However, they both have are extremely dry writers that won't write at all unless some pressure is applied. I've tried improving flow by using a brass shim to open up the tines a little and it has helped some, but I'm just wondering if this is a common trait of UK Duofolds. Could the smoothness be related to a baby's bottom issue? Has anyone had similar experiences? If so, what did you do to solve the issue? Thanks!

Does anyone know of any events, clubs, gatherings near Manchester UK to discuss fountain pens, swap ideas or spares? I apologise if this query has been raised before but I've not found anything relevant.

Hi! I'm a student from bristol newly into fountain pens. Is anyone else here from Bristol? So far i have a parker urban, parker vector, platinum preppy, another one but broken, an old pen i have no idea what it is(https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/323826-nib-upside-down/?view=getnewpost), and a load of disposable pilot v pens. Does anyone know the best places in Bristol for fountain pens etc?

Hey all! Hope everyone is having a good day! So today, I finally managed to get my first ever vintage fountain pen working! The pen is a No. 49 from the English company Burnham. Here's what I have to say about so far: http://i63.tinypic.com/2wog7c5.jpg So far the pen is a dream to write with, and I hope it stays that way. Since this is my first repair I know I've made a fair few mistakes Thanks! Edit: Quick correct from the written text, thanks to u/peterg I've realised that Burnham were trading into the 1960s!

Hello there, i've a quick question: what about Vacumatics with Newhaven (N marked) nibs? i've seen more than one of these pens on eBay - usually second generation, with speedline fillers - and i've always thought the nib was been replaced. Now, i've read that the first pens produced in Newhaven were strange: some of them made with different plastic, others made with parts imported from Canada and so on.. it is possible that these "N" nibs are the original mounted on the pen in the moment of their creations?

On The Cap: Rolled Gold Made In England On The Barrel Above Clip Band: Whetham London Is Whetham The name of the company that made the pencil? In the cartouche is COLFIX I believe that is an advertiser Any help with identification appreciated

Trying to free up my life to be able to get to this Will many people from here be attending? Having never been to a show, will I find many modern Japanese pens around (my particular interest)? I see lots of content related to Parkers, Shaeffers etc and pen turners/makers but not a lot about my beloved Nakaya, Pilot and Platinum pens. Regards, Bear

Hi I've finally got everything I need to start making Tomoe River pads in the UK. I'll be making all the pads my self, to the same quality that I'd expect for my self. So question is, what would you like? I think making very ornate leatherbound notebooks will be beyond me, but factors such as number of sheets etc would be handy..!

http://i.imgur.com/lQyI6VY.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fLP1JTF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Lmytvlt.jpg Snell was born in 1670, died in 1733. This book of his was published in 1712, having been engraved by George Bickham. Bickham commented on Snell's work in the introduction: "the Originals of that BOOK were the Best I ever wrought after: And tho' I have for the most part, kept close to the Proportion of the Letter, yet I think it impossible for any Engraver to Reach that Delicacy and Spirit, that is produced from the Freedom and Boldness of his Hand" Snell was apprenticed as a boy to a writing master of no particular note, but through his tireless study and practise from engraved works of Louis Barbedor (the French writing master) he attained great skill. Joseph Champion was a pupil of Snell. Snell's work was greatly admired at the time. Snell was also an expert accountant, bookkeeper and arithmetician and taught those subjects as well as penmanship. Scans on flickr here: http://tinyurl.com/pp4x4py There is a biography of Snell here: http://tinyurl.com/neln3kc A .zip of these scans is available here: https://mega.co.nz/#!iZ1mCKyA!CntxQlRI8SaIxNj4rZI4QH-F3VBxqBEXnOn8_K5HPUs I especially liked this plate of German Text (Fraktur): http://www.flickr.com/photos/21860485@N06/11383673546/in/set-72157638694372886

http://i.imgur.com/QFgaUVj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BT2QAIT.jpg http://i.imgur.com/rVNaj7t.jpg (The first plate above says "Bartholomeus it is meete and most convenient" etc etc) Richard Gething was born in Herefordshire, perhaps in 1585, and at some point in his life travelled to and worked in London. Massey describes him as being in the company of the "heads and fathers" of English calligraphy and that he deserves our "highest commendation". You might have heard of or read Sir Ambrose Heal's "The English Writing - Masters and Their Copybooks 1570 - 1800": this copy of Calligraphotechnia once belonged to him and has his bookplates and some notes by him written in it. This book also once belonged to one Nathaniell Adams, who wrote his name in it in 1654(? not sure about the last digit). Note the elaborate knot which is part of his signature. There is a specific name for such a knot, but I forgot what it was. Short biography of Richard Gething here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/qgn9p89 A .zip containing all the scans is here: https://mega.co.nz/#!SJ0mXDRL!F4dU8mcqB0SR25_cULhQCA6_M2h4GH2lqf__QAu0RPs And I've uploaded the scans on flickr here: http://tinyurl.com/ou9oh93

WH Smith currently has Lamy Studios (amongst other pens) on sale. The Studio is down to £23.99 for the brushed steel finish, in medium nib only. If you're a member of Quidco you get 10% cashback, too.