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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.

* Note to Admin: I've posted this in the sub-forum that I thought was the most appropriate. Please move this if you feel another sub-forum would be more appropriate.* TL:DR Version: If you love Fountain Pens and think you are either getting in or already in the hobby, for better or for worse, read on! As I have spent some time in this hobby, I’ve realized a few things. For better or worse, sharing these here in the hope that others may identify with these and they may serve as a (kind of) pointer to people just getting into this hobby. Please bear in mind that these are my opinions and others may disagree. I welcome all your thoughts on this so long as you disagree without being disagreeable. Keep it Fun. It’s just a hobby. Don’t get too bogged down and serious about stuff. It isn’t worth getting stressed out over. Have a List. This is a list of pens you want to buy. You could even have a different list for different price brackets – in fact, I recommend this. The aim should be to buy pens only on the list(s). Anything not on the list should be purchased only if the answer to ‘Should I buy this pen?’ is a resounding YES. Understand that there’s no such thing as ‘The Best’. What may be the best pen for someone or even a lot of people may just not work for you. And something that everyone roundly criticizes might turn out to be your dream pen. Also, as they say, in many cases, the best pen is the one you might have on hand – and this could very well be a Jinhao! Learn to separate opinion from fact. A few years ago, I was so consumed by what everyone said about a particular pen that I stopped evaluating them as per my need. This led to a lot of grief till I realized not to take something as gospel just because someone on the Internet said so. Just because one has a lot of pens in their collection or can afford expensive pens does not mean they know a lot about pens. Doesn’t work like that. Be part of the community. This complements the above point and has its own advantages. The amount of information floating in the fountain pen community is tremendous and talking to people with the same interest will really help. Try and be part of local pen meets. Every major city has some sort of an active pen community that usually meets every so often. One of the interesting thing about pen meets is that you might get to see and check out pens you have never considered earlier. If you are a beginner to the community, start with exploring the Fountain Pen Network Forum online and try and attend the Pelikan Hub that happens in September in most major cities across the world. Remember that more expensive is not necessarily better. This is a tough thing for many to digest, but just because you spent more money does not always mean you are getting a better pen. Be wary of hype. Sometimes, the Fountain Pen community goes into a frenzy and generates a lot of hype about a particular model of pen/ink/paper/something else. Be wary of this. Think on your own and wait for the frenzy to die down. Believe me, it will die down. Stick to your budget. Even if you are just starting out, consider the pens on your list, make a budget, and start saving ruthlessly. Never, ever get into debt because of this or any other hobby. The trick is to buy pens with your ‘fun money’, which is the money left over after you’ve paid all your bills and taken care of all your commitments. If you don’t have any fun money, walk away and come back when you do. Go out and try the pens. Nothing beats actually going out and trying the pen if you can. Good sources to try the pens you are thinking of buying are brick and mortar pen shops, pen shows, or local pen meets. Barring specialist pen shops run by passionate pen lovers, sometimes the sales people at pen shops may not be the best guides, but many sellers at pen shows are extremely knowledgeable. Be prepared to spend time and energy. While it is mostly easy to go online or to a pen shop and buy pens, many of the offbeat pens, custom pens, or out of production pens are not available so easily. Be prepared to work hard, do a lot of research, be an active part of the community, spread the word among like-minded enthusiasts about the pens you are looking to acquire and above all, be patient. Don’t look at pens as an investment. They are not an investment. Period. Even the rarest of pens do not appreciate in value with any sort of consistency and the market is subject to its own whims and fancies. If you want an investment that appreciates, talk to a financial planner. Don’t get into fixed way of thinking. When you start getting beyond the beginner stages of the hobby, you may get into a boxed way of thinking with fixed ideas about which pens you like or what nibs suit you or whatever. Get out of the box and explore a bit. You’ll be surprised. Don’t be a snob. People who have spent a lot of years in this hobby start to behave like snobs at one point. Very few people can escape this stage and I myself have been guilty of this. Like I said in the beginning, this should be about fun and acting like a snob is not fun. Conversely, if you are just starting in the hobby, ignore the snobs. Pens need maintenance. Lots of it. All pens need to be cleaned and maintained regularly, so be prepared to spend a lot of time on this. There’s no escaping this. Learn some basic pen and nib tuning. Or find someone who is accessible and ready to do this for you. Pens should work out of the box, and most do. But Fountain pens are a cranky proposition, so a lot of pens will need to be worked on before they write well. Especially new pens.Pro Tip: 9 out of 10 issues with new pens are resolved by one or all of the following Thoroughly cleaning the pen Disassembling the nib and feed and putting them back after a thorough cleaning Thoroughly flossing the nib tines Using an ink and paper with known characteristicsHope you find this useful. Cheers!

Hey all! Five years after joining I finally got a FP and I love it. I always print (all caps) regardless of pen type, but would like to relearn cursive. I learned it in the third grade (many, many moons ago) and haven't used it since. I went through several topics on these forums but couldn't find a good guide on how to actually make the letters in cursive. I know "cursive" can be a gazillion things -- I'm using a Pilot Metropolitan medium nib -- and I'm not looking to do anything super fancy; just neat, fluid writing to increase my speed. All I could find searching here and on Google were guide sheets that didn't show how to make the letter, just how to space them horizontally and vertically. Could any of you please suggest a resource that I could print a bunch of copies of (for free, preferably) to practice my cursive letters? I remember a handful of them, but trying to connect them looks like a train wreck on my paper For clarification, what I'm talking about is business script (I think). No shading necessary since my nib isn't flexible. If there are other styles I've somehow overlooked that may be better, please enlighten me! But, again, I'm not looking for calligraphy-level penmanship -- just a fluid, legible, and good looking form of "cursive." Many thanks, engel556

Hi all, I was wondering if people currently learning or looking to practice a language that isn't their mother tongue would be interested in exchanging letters with people who want to practice that same language? Not only would it be a handy way to improve or maintain your language skills, but it's an excuse to whip out your favourite pens, papers and inks, knowing that the recipient will appreciate them. If you're interested in this, please reply to this thread with: -the languages that you want to practice, and a rough idea of your level (total novice,the level of a lower school student, the level of a high school student, near-fluent, fluent etc) -a little bit about yourself and your interests (so people can find compatible pen-pals) ... I'll start: I'm currently a student of mathematical physics in Nottingham (UK) and my hobbies include cooking, music, sports/fitness and comedy. I'm looking to exchange letters in French (probably the level of a not-very-good high-school student), Spanish (the level of a lower school student) and German (total novice). ... I can't wait to write to some of you, if there's any interest in this. Cheers

I had an older post on here but things have changed some and I'm getting discouraged. I'm 30 years old and in college to get my Associates Degree in Network Administration in the IT field. So I work on computers all day. I rarely get to write by hand and when I do Its been so long since I wrote in cursive that I just fall back to print for note taking or anything because it takes me too long to write legibly in cursive. The only time I get to write in cursive is when I'm at home studying or writing my new found Pen Pals from these forums. I'm trying to practice Palmer method of cursive using the books online but I am having a really really hard time finding time to devote to them when I am constantly studying, and doing homework, and working, etc. Also the grip that the Palmer method shows really hurts my wrist and is really uncomfortable. Its really hard for me to get my wrist to lay flat like that and off the table, it feels more natural for my wrist to be rotated some. And With my wrist laying so flat I can't see what the heck I'm writing the way I would have to hold the pen.. Is your wrist really supposed to be so flat like in the Palmer book's pictures? Also it seems like you really need to have a specific posture and desk area to write like this.. Which makes me wonder if this is even something that I will ever even be able to use in school with awkward desk areas, etc its just not set up to allow for the space I need to write using the Palmer method.. Am I wasting my time here.... I mean my cursive is legible but I don't just want it to be able to be read, I want it to be enjoyed. Is anyone else having these issues that have or are currently trying to practice using the Palmer books? THIS IS NOT MY VIDEO but I found it and it is asking some of the same questions I am about the Palmer grip.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HUZLLwvOpQ The writing posture really concerns me also because I don't know if its going to be feasible to always get a proper posture out in the real world.. I don't want to only be able to write well when I have the perfect desk setup at home and then when I go to school or somewhere that doesn't have a good desk setup I can't write properly. I really appreciate any advice, Thanks Jeff

Hello all! Greetings from Sydney, Australia. I have been learning and will continue to learn about fountain pens via this lovely community. Everyone is supportive and has very good things to say! Thank you! According to http://www.melbpenshow.com.au/Ant&Art_page.pdf: "Australia has a small ‘pen population’. Fountain pen use in the UK and US equates to one in 25 to 30 of adult population. In Australia, fountain pen use equates to one in 120 of adult population. As a consequence, Australia has the smallest number of specialty pen retailers per capita, in the world. What follows is that Australians are not the modern pen manufacturers’ best friend!" It is nice to know that there is a global community of fountain pen enthusiasts. I'm aiming to get myself to the Melbourne Pen Show. Fingers crossed! This newbie thanks you all!

Hi All, I have recently started to practice Spencerian Business Writing. I bought the Mott Media theory book from Amazon, I have not ordered the Copybooks yet, because I noticed that it would be cheaper to buy the theory book and the copybooks separately. I was wondering if I need the Copybooks at all? Or if they are available for download anywhere? I was planning to scan them and reprint them on laser paper, because I was planning to use them more than once, and I have heard that the paper in them is not great. Does anyone have the copybooks in digital form, or know where I can download them? Or, are there any similar copy worksheets available? Also, Has anyone else started Spencerian recently who would maybe like to learn together? It would be cool to have a practice partner or two to share tips and resources, as well as motivation. Cheers, Bevan

Hi! I've never been tremendously good at these posts -- though I think this is a generic line that everyone seems to write before they begin their introduction. I'll just get to it. I'm Zavan, a postgraduate student and Cognitive Science hopeful from the UK. Most of my research concerns itself around the idea of embodied cognition, and I'd love to discuss this with some of you if you're interested. What does this have to do with the forums, though? Well, nothing really. I've registered here because my handwriting has always been god-awful. I'm left-handed and dyslexic, which is a pretty bad combination as far as good writing is concerned. The dyslexia meant that during primary school I missed out on writing lessons and had to sit with the remideal kids learning the difference between A's and E's (I can still remember a stupid rhyme we were taught for exactly this purpose). I think this was a bit of a waste of time for me, and especially for developing any form or flow with my handwriting. Although, this does allow me to use the convenient excuse "sorry for the Doctor's handwriting" in everyday situations. It'll have a bit more oomph behind it if I ever get around to completing a PhD, hah. I've just ordered my first fountain pen, a Lamy Safari, picked up a converter and some bottled ink -- Diamine's Midnight, if you're interested -- and made it my two month resolution to learn how to write well. Hopefully being active in a forum dedicated to exactly that will give me some kinda onus to keep on top of things. So, pleased to meet you all. I look forward to catching you around.

Hi all, I'm currently working on a plastics design brief and have opted to design a fountain pen for use by children. Personally speaking, back when I learned to write, I wrecked more than one nib though pressing too hard. Also busted a few through childish carelessness (pens rolling off desks etc.) I'm trying to get a general idea of what everyone here on FPN's experiences were when they learned; what did you find irritating, or difficult about first learning to use a fountain pen? Thank you!

Greetings fellow FPN'ers! It is just over a year (Sept 2012) since I posted a couple of pictures of my little one using a fountain pen for the first time. Back then it was a Jinhao 159 and due to the less than delicate touch of a child, has actually bedded in and writes really nice now! Since then, we have undertaken an exercise where every weekend, she is allowed to write in "Dad's Journal" and has her own page to herself to write about anything she wants. Tonight, being wet and windy and just not fit to take a dog outside in the bad weather, we decided to have a little indoors time and try a different pen, a simple Rotring Art pen with a 1.5 italic nib. We had a little practice with it to get used to the different feel that an italic nib has, but after ten minutes, she had it nailed. Out with the Journal and play-time again. In the spirit of the "reviews" pages: Pen: Rotring Art Pen 1.5 Italic. Ink: Rotring Art Pen Black Ink. Paper: Moleskine. Writers Age: 7. Fun Factor: 10/10 Had it not been for bedtime coming around so quickly, we would have actually had a go at doing an ink or pen review, although I might wait until her hand is a tad lighter before I allow her loose on my prize Pelikan M1000... I do however have a number of Lamy Safari's in the wings :-) I have now lost my Rotring....... Dave.

Greetings. I’m interested in picking up and becoming proficient with both a form of cursive and non-cursive. While my goals are largely aesthetic, I want to avoid sacrificing speed and efficiency in the long term, though I understand their loss is unavoidable during the initial training phase. At the moment, I have my heart set out on J. Pickering’s Practical Book Hand, but am unsure as to which style of cursive I would like to pursue; Spencerian and Business Hand, which are so frequently recommended, are unfortunately not to my taste. If I had to pick right now, I’d likely go with a form of Simple Modern italic cursive. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m interested in finding out what training approach is most widely recommended and why. I understand that aesthetically pleasing writing comes from consistent letterforms and consistent spacing between and around both individual letters and whole words. However, I figure there are four ways to train: 1) trace over the letter forms from a suitable exemplar of the hand; 2) practice reproducing the letterforms while occasionally regarding the exemplar, perhaps using paper with guidelines of some sort until you get used to the size and potential slant of each letter; 3) practice producing lines, circles, and ovals of correct slant and proportion relative to the hand of interest, before moving on to one of the other approaches; and 4) writing complete words and sentences in the hand, while aiming for the aforementioned consistency. I imagine approach 4 would not be recommended as a starting point, which leaves me with the first three. If using approach 2 or 3, which I know is often recommend at least at some stage of development, I figure I’d need sheets with guidelines on them specific to my hand. While several of the more popular styles have them premade, I don’t believe Practical Book Hand does. What approach would one take in generating these sheets as someone who has never studied penmanship with any seriousness before? Apologies for the size of the post, but thanks in advance for any responses.