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Hey all, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Apologies for that. I saw these old Waterman safety tools for auction on EBay. Similar ones show up from time to time. Does anyone know how they’re used? I maintain a small stable of vintage Waterman safeties for my cartooning practice, and just wondering if these would be at all helpful to take a flyer on. Thank you in advance!

I hope that I’m posting this in the right forum. What follows is in cash related, and is a “recipe” of sorts — but it’s for removing ink., not for making ink. Moderator, if this doesn’t belong here, please move it wherever it does belong. To gently and immediately remove even the stubbornnest fountain-pen/dip-pen inks, and most (or maybe all) marker inks, from your skin (and anything else, as far as I have been able to test), just rub in a TINY dab of Freezer Frost Remover liquid: not on Amazon, just now, but sold here — https://pmi.green/products/pa-8662-klean-logik-freezer-frost-remover-16-fl-oz — and naturally intended for the purpose described by its name, so it’s good to have this around the house in any case. You won’t need much at all — start with a few drops, and work up from there as needed: rub it in, wipe it off, and enjoy that it’s nearly odorless and it actually feels soft and smooth: somewhere between hand lotion and baby oil. What I used to rely on, before a very minor household accident clued me into using Freezer Frost Remover instead, was Nair or any similar depilatory — BUT left on/rubbed in for only 30-60 seconds rather than left on as directed for several minutes — Which dudnt quite fill the bill, as it’s lye-based: smells harsh, feels harsh on the skin, and can damage fabric and a lot of other things that you might need to remove ink from. Try Freezer Frost Removal for ink removal, too! You’ll love it! UPDATE: Another source of the product is https://www.smallapplianceparts.net/freezer-frost-remover-16oz/#:~:text=Unique formula contains MeltX to dissolve away frost%2C,have to add to your kitchen cleaner products! What does the magic (on a freezer or on inky hands) Is apparently an ingredient that the firm has trademarked as “MeltX” (I have been unable to find out what “MeltX” actually is, but maybe you know someone who could. Do you have any friends with a chem lab?) 😉

Hi Folks, I have a vintage Stetson that Greg Menuskin re-tipping and cleaned wonderfully. It has a rubber end with a small metal tube inside for filling. It holds a tremendous amount of ink and is my favorite pen, smooth and free-flowing. The issue with this pen is that I don't know how to fill it. I've tried putting the nib in ink and sucking ink in by squeezing the rubber but this only fills the reservoir a little. Does someone here knows how this fill mechanism is supposed to work? Also, what is the name of this pen? The barrel is marked "STETSON P&P Co. Ink. N.Y."

I’m here to discuss what I have found to be the most efficient ways of producing beautiful handwriting as a left-handed person. I have tried and am familiar with numerous writing positions known to lefties including underwriting, side writing and overwriting (hooking). What I present to you is not the sole way of going about lefty calligraphy, it is simply what has worked best for me and some of the most capable left-handed calligraphers. If you find another method that works well for you, if you’re getting positive results, great! Do that if it works. I hope this will be of help to some of my fellow lefties. Let’s make one thing clear: lefties are just as able as right-handed people to produce beautiful writing. If the proper positions are used, any type of calligraphy is possible. If one searches thoroughly enough, one can actually find a decent amount of information regarding left-handed calligraphy and left-handed writing in general. Unfortunately, little of this information is standardized (especially on online forums), and a good portion of it is misleading. I’ll start with something that causes perhaps the most confusion: scrips that require a broad nib like gothic, uncial, etc. In this case, I turn the paper 90 degrees clockwise and write vertically toward myself. The advantage of this is twofold; I never have to worry about smearing ink, and I can use a standard-cut broad nib (straight across, not an oblique) to achieve the proper angles desired. This puts me at exactly the same angle as a right-handed calligrapher. The only thing you might have to get used to is seeing the letters vertically. Tip: While practicing, turn your reference script (if you’re using one) 90 degrees as well so as to familiarise yourself with what the alphabet looks like at this angle. It’s very possible to use a left oblique nib. In this case, one should angle the paper clockwise at around 45 degrees. The paper should be positioned slightly to one’s left. This produces the proper angle. I prefer to write vertically at 90 degrees because it seems like the angle is more stable and it allows me to use a standard broad nib (not a right cut oblique, however). I highly recommend watching this video concerning the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrCFFt9uac0 Let’s talk about pointed pen calligraphy. There are two very effective methods: using a straight holder and writing under the writing line (this naturally achieves the correct line thickness), or using a right oblique nib holder and angling the paper clockwise somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees, the latter of which one is essentially writing vertically under the line as in the previous section on broad nibs. I go back and forth between the two methods. I think both are completely acceptable and efficient for pointed pen work. I will say, however, that making flourishes seems to be easier using an oblique holder. Here’s a demonstration by the wonderful left-handed penman John DeCollibus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOjh0SkwyCM As for standard cursive writing, I tend to angle the paper clockwise and write under the line. This works very well if you’re a frequent user of fountain pens as you won’t have to worry about which ink to use, nib size, flex, etc. With this position, any combination of nib, paper and ink work well. You might have noticed that all of the positions that I’ve discussed are “underwriting” positions. That’s what I use and what I esteem to be the most effective technique for lefties; however, this doesn’t make other forms of lefty writing like side writing or hooking incorrect. Unfortunately, in many calligraphy books the sections dedicated to lefties are often short and lacking in detail. There are very few books dedicated solely to the left-hander. Nevertheless, here are a few helpful resources on left-handed writing and calligraphy: Left-handed calligraphy by Vance Studley. The Calligrapher’s Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them by David Harris. The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting: Cursive and Calligraphic by Fred Eager Calligraphy 101 by Jeaneen Gauthier https://www.iampeth.com/lessons/left-handed https://www.nibs.com/content/left-handed-writers This has been a quite lengthy post, but I hope that you got something out of it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. For calligraphy and art related things, find me on Instagram @trsmith_art Best, Trenton Smith

Hello Members, I'm currently restoring my grandfather's Parker 51 with a 12K gold cap. The process been surprisingly smooth so far, thanks to YouTube and good luck probably, except I noticed that the nib of the pen doesn't seem quite right. It's a 14k nib and the tip is bent towards the right a bit. I don't have much experience with these pens and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas about what options I have to remedy this problem. Would I have to purchase a new nib? If so, where can I find one? Could the nib be repaired? Any recommendations of who would be up to the task? I'd appreciate any help in the matter. Thank you kindly! Sincerely, ALA

*No affiliation* Recently my friends asked me to help them order some limited editions from Japan because most sellers don't ship abroad. I did a quick research and figured out some ways to get these limited editions shipped outside Japan. In my case, it is mostly Sailor fountain pens which they made with Nagasawa, Wancher, Bungu Box or Pen House. For example, my friend want to order to California a Japan LE Professional Gear which is 20000 JPY in retail price, you will have these options to choose: 1. Ask your acquaintance to help. Cost will be: 20000jpy + 1600jpy(Japanese tax) + 2000jpy (EMS cost to California) = 23600jpy ~ US$212 2. Using a forwarding service such as Tenso, Whiterabbitexpress or Zenmarket , fees as follow: Tenso: 20000jpy + 1600jpy(Japanese tax) + 2000jpy (EMS cost to California) + 300 (handling fee by tenso) = 23900 ~US$214Zenmarket cost will be: 20000jpy + 1600jpy(Japanese tax) + 2000jpy (EMS cost to California) + 300 (handling fee by Zenmarket) = 23900 ~US$214Whiterabbitexpress cost will be: 20000jpy + 1600jpy(Japanese tax) = 21600 ~US$194, but Whiterabbit will charge $18.37 (EMS cost to Carlifornia) + $4 (handling fee by whiterabbitexpress) so final will be US$ 216.373. Email directly to seller such as Nagasawa and Wancher and ask them directly about model that you want to order. If they are okay to ship, the cost will be same as case (1). Some sellers are not good at english and process is very complicated. Some sellers do not ship abroad either. 4. Order from ebay, there are some sellers offer limited edition on ebay but price is normally 10-20$ higher than when ordering by (1) (2) or (3) method. On ebay you can refer to seller pisuke, cooljapan, engeika or pensachi. These are popular japanese retailers that I could find. 5. Ordering from reseller that ship abroad. I have been always referring to Pisuke and Engeika as two of best retailers of fountain pen from Japan. Sad news: Pisuke is only on eBay and Engeika is off. So I searched around on Reddit, Instagram and Facebook and I found pensachi.com They are not popular yet but they to sell these limited editions and ship them abroad. There are lmited pens of Nagasawa, Bungu Box and Wancher on their site. For a 20000 models they sell it at $225 or $215 sometimes. There services are also in english so its a plus. Note: in case (1) (2) and (3) there might be extra fee of domestic shipping and handling depending on each seller. Sometimes it costs me extra 1080jpy for shipping fee and 432 for cod fee which are around uS$10-15 extra. I already recommended these methods to my friends, and now I don't order for them anymore. Some of them order by proxy shipping and some are using ebay and pensachi. I don't know if there are any other methods but my short research just came up with these. I hope it helps.

Hi there, I have a 244G laying around on my desk and would like to disassemble it. I have thus used the search function but couldn't find a disassembly instruction. Does anyone of you know how to take the 244G apart? Is the feed screwed in or friction fit? Best greetings!

Hi everyone, As I introduced myself in a "new to the forum section" I can continue here on what is concerning me the most at the moment. I have a Pelikan Celebry that I inherited from my father. It is a very good writer in every possible aspect, smooth and wet with its 14c golden nib. However every once in a while I try to disassemble it for cleaning with no success whatsoever. It doesn't just unscrew from the section part as other Pelikans do, nor does the nib pull out from the section so I simply let tap water to run through from time to time. Is anyone familiar with how to disassemble this pen for cleaning?

Hello everyone! I am Jarwolf! I saw a fountain pen online browsing for something to purchase for a hobby. I saw an advertisement saying "Fountain Pen's 60% off" I thought to myself.."Hmm, what in the world could a fountain pen be?" *click link* I saw an odd looking tip. Okay...I think I will buy it and see what it does! Sadly to say, it did not come with any ink at all, just the pen! Here is a little story why I got this and why I am here today needing help! Okay, so I made up the name Jarwolf, because my first name is Jared, also..well...hehe, I LOVE WOLVES WITH A PASSION!!! awhoooooo!!!!! I am terrified and HATE needles! I wish to get a wolf tattoo on my left arm. I thought to myself, "This pen may work if..." (((bleep), what ink...what bran!!!?! ahhhhhhhh)). So, my question is...Where can I find ink that will work in my fountain pen that is black and permanent such as "indelible ink", or ink that will NOT go away or fade when I go to take a shower and if I were to constantly scrub on the area where I drew the 'tattoo' on my arm. Please help me; my beautiful fountain pen users! Also, a link (if allowed) for the ink that I just described (if there is one!--There has to be! :\ !) Here is the DESCRIPTION of the pen that I have bought, I will also have pictures attached to this. Description: Classic Smooth Writing Pen, 18k gold-plated stainless steel nib,ink Cartridge International Standard, Removable Converter and Refillable, cap type:push. What does "ink cartridge international Standard" mean as well as "cap type:push"? How am I supposed to refill this as well? EDIT:: Would I be able to put different NIBS on sense it is unscrewable//comes off???

The subject is the question. How is Baoer pronounced? I can see pronouncing it several different ways, but it's not from an English language manufacturer, so it may have a pronunciation that's totally different from anything I could guess. Anybody know? It could be spelled Luxury Yacht but pronounced throat-warbler-mangrove. Reference link.

I've never been great about journaling consistently. I have improved since getting into fountain pens but thought I could glean some insights from you all: HOW do you journal? Long stream of consciousness? Brief snippets/phrases rather than complete sentences? Summaries of what you did that day/hope to do that day? Highlights to look back on? Thinking yourself clear "aloud"? Other? Share your habits, please.

hello. I want to buy a Yard O led Grand victorian. I do not know how to post in classifieds. I have been a member for a few months and as as active as I can be on here. Do I have to be a gold member or something to post a want to buy on the classifieds? What do I need to do to participate. I have purchased from other members' classifieds already. Now I want to fish for a pen that is not currently listed.