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Does anyone else also use manual or vintage manual typewriters? What do you use it for? Correspondence?

Want a letter, or feel like exercising your pens? Then here's a quick fix - get a letter right away and send a letter to the next person that posts after you. That's it, no long term commitment, just a letter for fun. The next person to post (international included) gets a letter from the person in the post before their own, but you must then send a letter to the next person to post after you, who then must send a letter to the next after them, and so on. Private Messager your mailing address to the person who posted before you, once you see that your post is actually next.Participate more than once if you like, but let's agree to send the previous letter before posting again.

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a while because I was very satisfied with my current ink and pen setup and was a bit afraid of spending too much money on things I don't really need if I kept coming back here (as we all though). However, last weekend, I met this amazing, amazing girl who was visiting here and we basically spent the whole weekend together. Now she went back to the city where she lives and we decided to keep in touch even though she said she isn't very good at long distance relationship. Anyway, long story short, we have been talking over Messenger but I wanted to do something a bit more romantic and write her a letter. I am currently trying to pick the proper ink to do the trick. 99% of the time when I write, I use Noodler's Black but I didn't know if black was a bit too cold and informal for a love letter? On my shelf, in terms of non-blacks, I only have J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage, Sheaffer Skrip Blue and Pelikan Royal Blue. Would any of those do the trick? Should I buy something else? Or should I just stick with my proven friend, Noodler's Black? Thank you all very much in advance!

Aloha everyone. Status: I have been corresponding for awhile now. Always responding fairly promptly when a letter is received. And, never missing a response. In this way, I figured the person who I'm writing to would be in their comfort zone as far as how often to write, if I only equally respond. And, I'd be always attentive to be sure to respond with a well composed missive, most often with enclosed pictures to share since I'm a photographer. I also pay attention to letter lengths. There's no sense in my responding to a single half page written on both size with 4 full size Rhodia sheets written on both sides. And VS VS. I figured, this way, the other person sets the pace of disclosure and all that, and I'm happy with that. Partial results: Some correspondents are very regular and steady. A few develop great exchanges. Others perhaps lose interest in writing or fountain pens or :"who knows" over time and fade away. And, others, after an initial letter exchange simply stop for some unknown reason. Question: However. I had a though that what if the other correspondent simply forgot to write and instead of a monthly exchange, 2-3 months go by. Should I write a short letter to keep up, or simple realize that the other person is no longer interested in writing or has the time, etc?' I'm very meticulous in keeping track of things. Perhaps others are not? Exception: I did have one person not write in nearly a year, then a letter appeared and it was nice. But, who knows if what used to be a regular monthly exchange will resume. Unknown? Exception: One person went through a bad health patch and was not in the mood to write for nearly a year.. Yet, perhaps a cheerful inquiry note in the mail from a corespondent would bring cheer. Who knows? One can only guess? And, not pry. You can't tell the difference between no longer wanting to write or no longer able to write, etc. Exception: sometimes, there is a certain relationship established, at least early stages, and there's familiarity. Being human nature, we are concerned when someone does not respond in turn. Yet, it would seem intrusive to send a letter after already sending one without a response 2 months later. Like being a "pest"? Or needy? Question to the forum: 1. What is the proper etiquette for letter exchanges? 2. Do you write only when written to? 3. Is the letter exchange 1 for 1, equally reciprocal? 4. Is it natural for correspondents to come and go and a few endure over time? (perhaps like real life?) 5. An experienced correspondent once told me that snail mail correspondence is like a "slow conversation". That was nice and I took it as good advice. 6. How do you do your letter exchanges? 7. What are your protocols? 8. Other tips and thoughts and your experiences. Thanks everyone for your help and advice Aloha jim

Due to senior "forgetfulness", memory issues, I was thinking of making copies of letters before I send them out (snail mail correspondence) so that I remember what I've written, and help me write more thoughtfully. How many of you make copies of written letters to keep track of what was sent? Or do you just, "remember". Do you have a system for snail mail writing? Thanks everyone for your help.

I'd like to write a letter using one of my pointed dip pens (or possibly the glass dip pen, although that's still relatively new to me), and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on a good cream or ivory colored stationery or paper to use? In particular, I am choosing to break out a dip pen as opposed to a fountain pen as I know the recipient does some US Civil War reenactment and I think it might amuse him to get a pointed pen letter in either walnut or iron gall ink. (He has not requested any such thing, I just think it would be a nice whimsical surprise... And I am not myself a history buff and am not sure I would be able to produce a period-appropriate hand anyhow if he did ask for such.) As such, if there is stationery that would be kind of a good match for that time period that also holds up well to dip pen use (bonus if also good for fountain pens), that would also be appreciated, because hey, why not go all out on a fun letter, right? (Write?)

Most of my 40+ pens have interesting colors in them but a Parker Sonnet with a factory italic and a Hua Hong HH-8 have black in them. The Sonnet is really dark with Quink black at about double saturation (evaporated, filled again with ink without cleaning it out) and the HH-8 has a 20+ year old generic black cartridge I had to add water to. I'd kinda like to use them, but feel guilty sending a penpal a letter in boring ink. Kinda feel the same about unsaturated blues like 4001 or Waterman. I used to have a Vac 700 smoke with 80% Noodler's Black in it. Since that's waterproof, I used it for addressing envelopes. Not sure how, but it left a film in the barrel I had trouble removing, so that pen's empty and waiting for me to figure which of 50+ (100+ ?) untried colors to put in it.

OK, so apparantly February is Interantional Correspondance month - much like write a novel in a month - this is write a letter/postcard to someone for every day in Feb. An ideal thing for folk looking for excuse to use their fountain pens. Here's a link to what the fuss is all about. http://incowrimo.org/2017/01/sbre-brown-endorses-incowrimo/

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 challenged my self 4 days ago. Write a personal letter, everyday, for a month. Anyone else want to join? I've done 6 in 5 days.

Maybe it was discussed before, but I couldn't find it. Could you recommend me letter set (envelope and paper). I Google it, but most letter sets are for children, more suitable one does not have enough information about paper quality. What I am looking for is more "classic" set. Envelope should not be too big (9 x 13 cm would be ideal). Paper should be smooth and suitable for writing with fountain or dip pen. Thank you!

I've been browsing Goulet and my local pen store (Artlite here in Atlanta) for some stationary to write a particular letter, and it is of the utmost importance that it looks good, and coveys a sense of finality. In fact, I wish this letter to be a final one to the particular person(s) who will be receiving a variation of it. I have been wronged a great deal by several people in a position of power (and I will be leaving my vulnerable position before the letters have been posted), and I wish to convey, with the utmost formality, finality, and dignity, my extreme displeasure in having known them. I say this to give an overview of the content of the letters, so that the paper will match. I have been looking for something roughly A4 sized (it's going to be a long sort of letter) un-ruled, off white, and not unlike the Rhodia R line of paper, which people have come to recognize as mine, but is too thin and informal for my purposes, and perhaps a bit too yellow. Price is not an object, although I require only 10 or so sheets to accomplish what I wish to do. (However, low sheet count is not a requirement.) I've looked at G.Lalo and Original Crown Mill (cotton, not laid, and yes, I am aware of the texture of G.Lalo) and was wondering if something like Crane might be more suitable for the task, although I am shooting for something which they are not likely to see ever again, and Crane happens to be popular for letters of magnitude. I have no preference as to watermarked or not, so long as the paper is reserved and not flamboyant in tone. I especially like the color of G.Lalo Ivory, does anyone have this next to some of the Rhodia 90gsm or Clairefontaine regular white? I have tried and failed to like Triomphe, I just couldn't get myself to like it. I want something heavy-ish, but not cardstock. I have really grown to like the 90gsm Rhodia, but as this will be for one off letters and not repeats, I want the absolute best that I can get my hands on, although best is always relative to the person. Thanks in advance for any help one of you might be able to offer.

I got a penpal letter today but I am afraid it has no return address I have a lot of conversations from my inbox, but I can't recall who you were. (I'm sorry!!!) The letter was written from the UK, but you didn't mention which ink or pen you used (it was in a cobalt blue shade). But you did mention that you wrote it on Tomoe River paper. And you love video games If you wrote to me on the 28th of January, please PM me a return address so I can get back to you asap! -Odin

In case you are itching to write some letters, but aren't sure what to write, you could volunteer for this project. I'm not affiliated with this art project, but I do plan to volunteer for it. Basically, for one week you volunteer to write other people's letters and mail them. For more details, check out the project's website at http://snailmailmyemail.org

I recently bought a Pilot Metropolitan Medium. I have a pretty decent handwriting. I have a keen interest to write a letter to my SO, I have a few thoughts on some inks that may look beautiful, but I do need advise on what kind of paper and its specifications so that the ink doesn't bleed through etc. My choices of inks so far: Noodler's black swan in English rosesDiamine SarahDiamine AmaranthNoodler's La Reine MauveNoodler's Lexington grPelikan Turquoise 4001Noodler's black swan in Australian roses ( I really like the shade this ink has, but there seems to be a difference in old ink and new ink, I like the old one more)​I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me select a good ink shade and a paper to write on. Thank you.

Starting in July, 2014, the winners of the 2014 Graceful Envelope Contest will be displayed at the National Letter Carriers Headquarters Building, 100 Indiana Avenue, Washington, DC 20001 for one year. For more information and to see the winning entries, check out www.calligraphersguild.org/envwinners2014.html Would be well worth a side trip from the DC Pen Show in August.

During the course of writing French, I realised that I hate the cursive letter z. Not the capital, but the lowercase. It's the bane of my writing. In an otherwise okay-looking sea of letters, my z sits there awkwardly like a slightly overweight and tall child who always catches ball with his face (we all know that kid in the class. I was him). As those who have taken French or speak it may very well know, the letter z appears everywhere in French. Not so much in English. I am seriously considering using tutoyer for the rest of my life at the risk of being rude to everybody. (Okay, clearly this is unrealistic. But still, I hate z's that much.) Do you have such a letter, that you just can't get right, no matter how much you seem to practise? I've managed to overcome my fear of Ts, but z's seem to defeat me at every turn.

Reading all these paper reviews here make me feel dizzy... Maybe some of you more experienced members can point me to the short way to solve my problem: I'm residing in Indonesia and just cannot buy FP-friendly paper here. The only high quality paper is a DinA4 loose leaf by Kokuyo and comes in 100g/sqm with 30 holes. Not really a suitable paper for letters. Indonesia is actually a paper producing country, but it seems it's all for export - like the good tobacco for fine cigars. So to justify the high shipping cost and probably applied custom fees, I am going to order quite a lot of paper online to get what I want. As this is a costly endeavor I would like to make sure, I will not make a mistake in ordering: A rather lightweight FP-friendly DinA 4 paper to snail mail letters to my friends abroad. I like to have lines on it which accomodate my large writing with big wet nibs but which do not offend the eyes of the readers as the ones on elementary school paper. And I wish to enjoy writing on it like on a silky, glassy, ...(put in your word, you know what I mean)... surface. Maybe you can even point me to a trustworthy online source - I don't mind your commission . I would ask the seller to put into the package to me as many such notepads as possible in a certain freight class, so the shipping cost would be distributed most economically onto the amount of paper - so I wonder, if there is an online seller who would care to show some cooperation here, since I cannot calculate the weight of the wrapping material used. Thank you for any suggestions! Tom (apologies for my English, which is not my mother's tongue)