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I am a new fp enthusiast. My first pen is a Noodlers Ahab flex nib and I love it! I love how it writes. I enjoy composing correspondence to my distant friends with this pen. I love the wide variety of Noodlers ink colors I buy. Noodlers inks are the only ones Ive used. The current favorite of mine is the legal blue. My question lies in the amount of ink that is regularly on the nib and the section. Im going to try to upload pictures to show you what Im experiencing. I try really hard to store my pens nib up. Ive noticed that heat, sunlight, hot car, etc... encourages what I think is called nib creep and Ive tried to minimize that. If this is normal Im fine with it but if theres something I can do, please let me know. My photo files are too large at this moment. I get so much ink on my finger that supports my pen that, if Im using red ink, people ask me if Im bleeding. I try to keep a tissue with me to wipe the section before I write but I often forget the tissue and I dont forget my pen. The ink amount thats on the end of the pen keeps me worried about leaks into my day bag so I dont carry my pen in my bag (would be helpful to be able to do so) and Id really like to do so.

Hello, this is my first post on fountain pen network it seems like a welcoming place. I need a budget fountain pen around 10 to 40 dollars or so for it to be my first fountain pen.I also I am in school still so I also need a pen with at least a fine nib that writes smoothly (European fine not Japanese fine). I think the best choice is Lamy Safari or a Metropolitan?Is it?Anyone is welcome to suggest any other FP's. Also, I will use the pen as a Workhorse pen it is gonna get very heavy usage. Sincerely -Yousef

I'm looking to buy my first Parker Fountain Pen. I'm on a budget of 50 euro including postage to Ireland but it would be nice to keep it closer to 30. Next year I'll be doing really important exams which are hours long at a time so I need a nice pen to get me through. Please, when making suggestions, keep in mind that I have large sloppy writing which is barely legible at the best of times and especially in exam situations when I am writing quickly (which is what this pen will be intended for). The main things I am looking for in a pen are . . . It must be durable and reliableIt must be comfortable to write with for long periods of timeI want to be able to write well whilst applying minimal pressure to avoid hand crampsLow maintenance and not tempermentalPreferably fully metal (no gaudy plastic) What pen would you suggest? I have looked at a few online for example the IM, IM Premium, Urban and the one which appealed to me most was the 'IM Premium Gun Metal Chiseled FP' but I'm pretty clueless so I'd love to hear any suggestions. Also, where would you suggest I buy my pen from? So far I have been looking on Amazon but I want to buy from somewhere trustworthy, that has the cheapest prices and must ship to Ireland. Any advice is much appreciated. Please include the price you would expect each pen to retail at and if possible somewhere there is a good deal on it. And with regards to the ink, is it better to use the pot of ink or to buy the refill cartridges? Which is more economical? Thanks in advance, Niamhers.

I am a new entrant in the fountain pen world and my knowledge is limited to what I have read online. I am thinking of buying a pen and the things that matter to me are: Writing quality (of course), solid build, and appearance. I have narrowed down to the following pens but am not able to decide because, besides the good comments, I have also heard some serious negative reviews about them - I am not sure how prevalent these issues are. Could someone please help me decide? 1. Visconti Rembrandt: I like the looks of it the most but I have read at some places (amazon) that there are issues with its ink flow and build quality. 2. Waterman Perspective: I almost equally like this one too but again have heard bad reviews on its build quality (lacquer coming out) and ink flow. 3. Faber Castell Ondoro: The looks are a little bland for my taste but if it turns out to be superior in quality than the above two then I may go for this one. If you think some other pen (in similar budget range) is far more superior to the above three then please feel free to comment. Please advise. Thanks.

Greetings to all- I have been a member of the forum for a few months now. However, this will be my first official forum post. I usually spend most of my FPN time in the Classified section where I've had the opportunity to meet wonderful members who were more than generous in sharing with me their beautiful and timeless pens. I was introduced to my first fountain pen roughly summer of last year. Though I have experience in using dip pens for illustration, I have not tried nor even considered fountain pens as an alternative to creating artworks. My chance encounter with my first pen occurred in a quasi-melodramatic manner. As if fate had its hand in this, the usual art store that I often visited was closed for a month-long renovation process and I decided to take a trip at another art store far from where I live. I was new to that swanky store and as I fumbled my through the labyrinth-like aisles chocked full of rows and rows of paints, brushes, paper goods, and all the artsy fartsy supplies that will make even Rembrandt wet his pants in his grave, I ended up in the fancy fountain pen department that was managed by a mild manner older gentleman who happened to look like Gandalf the Wizard from Lord of the Rings film! And to add to his near-authentic looking gray hair, beard, and mystifying expression, he also sported an oversize white button-up shirt that, I swear at certain angles, glowed with faerie magic under the track lighting above! My first impressionable notion was, "Oh... my... hot potato... Gandalf is here!" He saw my big raccoon eyes staring at him, and in return he waved his modern day magic staff at me as if offering me a rare blessing into knighthood--or the last rites before you face a fire breathing dragon and become a charbroiled burger. As I walked closer, his staff was a Porsche Design fountain pen in carbon fiber trim with a rhodium nib. "Can I interest you in this pen that we now carry in stock," he said. "It is just one of the BEST writing pen around!" He followed with an upselling tactic, "Once you write with this, you'll never go back to ballpoint pens again." You know when Gandalf says that a pen is the best, you do not question the 'white wizard' of Lord of the Rings... and of Two Towers... and of The Return of the King! His word... is EPIC! I immediately grabbed the pen like a giddy kid being handed an ice cream on hot day. For a moment there, I felt the wizard's life giving aura flow through me with such vitality. It was legendary. Then I saw the price tag. "Are you nuts?!" Okay, so I didn't say that directly to him. "Oh sonova@%&*%#!" And not that one as well. Yes, the price tag quickly depleted the life giving energy from me. I felt like one of the... forsaken. I turned down Gandalf. I had to. Ofcourse, now that I think about it again, some of the pens I would like to acquire someday are worth double or even triple that price tag. But still, at that time, the whole 'shock and awe' feeling had me walking away with a Lamy Safari outfitted with an EF nib instead. I enjoyed my Lamy--yes, in white color to honor the white wizard--and as my first official cartridge converter pen, it was a wonderful instrument that allowed me to fall in love fountain pens slowly but surely. Sadly, I had to part with the pen a few months later as I found myself convinced by better 'wizards' in the Classified section of the Fountain Pen Network forum who wield pens of true power and harness mystifying concoctions of indelible inks than Gandalf! The Classified section is a place where magic meets your wallet. Thus, is my story... my tale. I hope to meet and more more FPN members soon! Thank you, all! Cheers! Ced P.S. The art store really does exist and the gentleman is still working there. He is really a kind fellow without whom I probably would not have given a thought about fountain pens.