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Hello everyone, I recently joined the fountain pen cult community, and have been coming to FPN for information. So, I thought I'd join in, and start interacting! A little bit about me: I have always been into pens and pen colors, looking for the smoothest experience. I have owned every color G2, Sakura, etc. you can think of. Although everything in my work life is digital, I'm still a sucker for the analog style of taking pen to paper. I thought it was time to mature my writing utensils. My journey started with multiple pens from Lamy (Safaris, Al-Stars, and Vistas), a Pilot Metropolitan, and a Noodler's Ahab, as I search for my preferred nib size/feel and ink colors. To me, everything about fountain pens is deliberate and I am thoroughly in love. This is an amazing corner of the inter-webs, with a wealth of information and personality. I can't wait to get more involved. Cheers,FeriociousNPrettyaka Newsha

Hello everyone! Just joined the forums. Still very new to nice pens and writing with them. I'm really enjoying it, struggling to find things worthy of being written. I started with a set of Pilot Metropolitans a few years ago, I think it was an impulse buy mostly, upon seeing them on amazon. I bought a medium nib black metro and a medium nib silver metro. (not sure why i bought the same nib) A bottle of parker quink to fill them and I was all set. I must have only used them a few times as I never realized even how to properly use them (writing angles, storage, refilling). They were sitting in my a drawer for the past few years and i just recently pulled them out to give them a go. Still working perfectly. You'll laugh, but until a few weeks ago i didn't understand how the converter works. The included con-20 is the one I have been using. I hadn't realized you dipped the nib and squeezed the converter. I had been removing the converter, filling it outside of the pen by dipping and squeezing it. Obviously this made a huge mess when the converter was installed back onto the body. It took a few weeks of regular use for me to figure it out! About a month ago i looked for a broad nib i could purchase and found the 78g. I'm a fan of the weight of the metro but having no broad nib available for it and also having two identical nib's i purchased the 78g solely to swap the broad nib onto the metro. It's worked out well and i thoroughly enjoy the embellished style brought on by the broad nib. Just forayed into the pilot con-40 and it has only been installed for a few hours, but it seems to work well, the rattling of the agitators aren't a concern to me. Happened upon the pilot vanishing point series and now have my first $150 pen on its way in an extra fine nib. Very excited to use it in the coming years. I'll be going to college and I plan on it being used in daily classroom writing. The various inks available are tempting but as I still have a half jar of black parker ink and an almost full jar of the red parker, it just wouldn't be practical (but then again, when talking about fountain pens, is any of this really about practicality?). The Pilot Iroshuzuku series of inks are so beautiful, but a full bottle isn't what I need right now, so I settled with a sampler of a few of the colors. Really excited to continue using these pens and collect more in the future. Didn't mean this introduction to turn into a memoire, but it saved me the effort of telling this story over and over slowly as i talk to others here. Not really even sure why I joined the forums, haven't been a part of a forum before so it shall be interesting. I look forward to talking with you all! -Daniel Heckman

Hello my name is Clay and I'm a complete noob to pens in general (especially fountain pens.) The reason I'm "new" to pens is I was born with cerebral palsy and due to that I've used computers to write everything but my name and a couple sentences. I used to hate using pens and pencils to physically write things due to how hard it was physically and also I do not have good handwriting at all. I have come to realize here recently I enjoy writing with pens when the pen "glides" over the paper. Keep in mind the pens I used were not even true Ball point either. So I started to do research and discovered fountain pens. I know that it is a learning curve when it comes writing with fountain pens but I feel up to the challenge. I want to start enjoying putting ink on paper cause the way I see it, the words you write in ink gives the paper soul. I'm looking for a durable beginner fountain pen around $10 (prefer non-disposable) and to give you an idea I've tried the Pilot Varsity. I enjoyed the experience that the Pilot Varsity gave me, but I'm just not fond of disposable pens! Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance, Clay

Hello, everyone! My name is Keith and, while I have been writing for many years, I have never given much thought to the quality of the pen, pencil, or paper that I've used. This has recently changed since I am preparing to begin working on copywork that I intend to pass down to my children as an heirloom; the Bible, both old and new testament, written in my hand (ESV translation). I just bought a ream of Crane's Crest 20lb. 100% cotton paper, but I am still trying figure out what pen to use. I have used (and am quite comfortable with) my Sakura Pigma Micron (005) pens for writing in my study Bible's. Unless I find something of better quality that does not have a tendency to bleed through the page, I plan on using these for my copy work. That being said, I have always been interested in fountain pens, but my experience with them has not been very good. Every one I have ever used has had a tendency to stop writing at the most inopportune times. I am also planning on either binding the finished product myself or having it professionally done, so I welcome advice in that area as well. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts!

I own a Waterman L'Etalon ballpoint, which I love. And I want to complement it with the fountain pen: I love the elegant, sophisticated yet simple look of it and I love its solid weight. However, looking around the internet, they don't come cheap - to my standards. I am a fountain pen noob, so before spending an inordinate amount of money on a pen, I would like to experience somehow if I like the fountain pen experience in the first place. Can you guys give me a hint as to where to start? Does a supermarket pen provide a similar writing experience as does a luxury pen? Are there any others ways to help me avoid this being an expensive gamble? I know of no place in my neighbourhood where I can test a pen, especially not a vintage pen. Thanks a lot for your input!

Hello! I started in fountain pen collection 1 year ago and looking around I found this incredible site. This is a great place and wonderful people. Have nice pens!!

Hello everyone! I've been into fountain pens for the past couple of years since I appreciate a good writing utensil. The only pens I write with frequntly are the cheap one, a jinhao that weighs a ton and has a snake on it, a $5 hero ground to a flat nib, and a couple picaaso pens. I use private reserve ink since it's cheap and I haven't had problems with it. I joined because I'm looking for some decent medium-fine nib pens for a reasonable price. Since I'm a college kid wih 2 broken cars, a reasonable price to me is ~$20-$50. I'm a chem major so the further in the program I get the smaller my handwriting gets. I also have rather enourmous hands so I can't really use smaller diameter pens for extended periods of time.

Hello everyone, Glad to be joining what seems to be an already fantastic community of fountain pen enthusiasts. I am VERY new to the hobby having just discovered fountain pens in the last two weeks. I have recently been very interested in photography and have been following along with a YouTube channel, The Art of Photography, wherein Ted Forbes, the channel's creator, recently suggested starting a physical photography journal. I liked the idea of this better than starting a blog or Tumblr or whatever to document how I am learning and growing as a photographer. It gives you somewhere to put your photo prints and have the ability to comment on them, in a physical form. As I was trying to decide what format (notebook, pad, etc.) to use, I came across Rhodia webnotebooks which seemed to be a good choice given the quality of paper. Upon looking up reviews for Rhodia notebooks, I came across a number of ink and fountain pen review on YouTube. I though, "Huh, would be cool to use a nice pen when writing in my new photo journal..." Rabbit hole entered. Countless hours of Goulet and other YouTube videos later, I made my first purchase, settling on a Pilot Metropolitan and some cartridges. With many other things that I get into, that only satiated my interest for about 3 days before I decided I want to get another converter/cartridge pen (Jinhao x450) and some sample inks. I tend to overspend on new hobbies, so I'm trying to keep it cheap while I explore. What I have learned so far is that I tend to write slower and a little more intentionally with fountain pens. Having grown up at a time when cursive handwriting was starting to become greatly devalued and deemphasized, I have decided I need to focus on becoming better at that. I have always been envious of those that can write fluidly and elegantly in cursive, and I suppose there's nothing preventing me from learning. Anyway, I apologize for the rambling post. If this community is anything like what I have heard it is, I'm excited to be a part and looking forward to continual learning and contributing.

Hey everyone! Fountain pen noob here from Utah. Years ago I got a Waterford pen from some catalog because I've always liked good pens and I thought it looked cool. It sucked and my hobby almost died there. A few months ago I bought a Pilot Metro on a whim, tried it out, and have been absolutely obsessed ever since (I'm sure you've all been there). I've since accumulated an Edison Collier, Noodler's Ahab, Parker 21, TWSBI Diamond 580, and even got the Waterford writing. Anyway, I'm loving it and can't wait to add to my collection! (Much to my wife's chagrin) I'll be sure to bug you all with lots of questions. Great to be here!

Hello! I'm Marcelo from Brazil. I've been coming here for a couple of months because Brian Goulet can't shut up about the FPN Now I've felt sure that I want to be part of this (extra) fine community. I'm a total n00b when it comes to fountain pens — I've been using fountain pens since college, but only this year I decided to really dive into the hobby and acquire some know-how and connect with other enthusiasts. (The discovery of the Goulet Pens YouTube channel might have had something to do with it.) It's quite hard to find good pens, inks, paper, etc. in Brazil without forking out a lot of cash. Not only everything is imported, importation duties are between 86 and 94% over price + shipping. This creates a scenario where few pen companies dare to bring or produce very much of anything. Pilot, for example, sells, two bottled inks, "black" and "blue". That's it. Pilot concentrates on ballpoint and roller pens here. Sheaffer sells maybe three pens and Faber-Castell doesn't even sell anything apart from pencils in Brazil. My first pen ever was made by a regional brand called Crown. They're the only people who lean pretty heavily into fountain pens while also making rollerballs an mechanical pencils (Brazilians love 'em some mechanical pencils). Crown's alright, but they are villains and victims of this state of everything being so expensive: their pens really don't mach up to quality by price if compared to German or Japanese pens of the same level of quality, even with the added importation taxes. I'm rambling (I'll be doing that a lot around here, sorry). Anyhow, it's good to finally stop lurking!

Hi-This is my first review. I've scanned the document and I hope this works. I really liked this ink. I've always considered myself a jewel toned girl but there is something about the Sailor Greens that seems to call to me. I tried to write the name of the ink in (is it kanji) but probably failed miserable. I believe the name indicates the wait one experiences at the beginning of spring until the new tea can be harvested-88 days. The number 88 is also a lucky number for many Asians (8s always being a good thing). Thoughts: I did not have a ton of similar greens to compare the ink to, I used Sailor Pen and Messenger Cigar with a dip pen (hello mess) and a fine point. I found the intensity of the color similar to both Diamine's Racing Green and Cigar.The ink behaved beautifully on both the Staples sugarcane (20lb), Tomoe River (cream), and the Crown Mill. I think it looked best with the medium flex nib. crazy shading throughout.water resistance- basically none-I sprinkled drops of water and let it sit for over 10 seconds, then wiped down. Where the drops were large the ink disappeared.I could be totally wrong on lubrication/flow--like I said this is all new to me. The ink didn't fight the pen or paper.There was some bleed through.I really love this color. It reminds me of how green everything in Albuquerque in the spring.This is a sample of the comparable inks that I have. Please note the photo has a touch more green (just a tiny bit) but I can't seem to correct it. This is a picture of a scanned pdf. Hope this works. This is the PDF which might be easier to view. Sorry.

Hi I am totally new to fountain pens and just chanced upon this forum while considering mid range luxury pens to buy as a birthday present from Amazon (a Waterman Expert Deluxe Rollerball) and got persuaded to get a White Lamy Safari (Fine nib) to try out and see how it fares against Pilot G2s which is my fav since I graduated from using pencils during P3. The only impression I have of FPs are that my DAd's ones are extremely leaky and stain everything which happened way too long ago. While I am absolutely delighted at how smooth my Lamy glides on paper when positioned correctly, I can't help but mind the slight bleeding that appears on my Popular Composition/Lecture Pad paper (the normal foolscap we like to use in schools). FYI, It doesn't bleed with the thicker copier paper. It would help if I could know where is the best place/website to get a Neon Coral (and other colour) Lamys locally. It would help if I could know whether EF nib will bleed like the fine nib and where to get it if possible.(Pls provide places which sells EF Lamys as well!) It would be really helpful to know the exact SGD the pens/nibs are retailing for in SG.

Hi Fountain Pen Network, I buy and sell second hand stuff, but more the collectible stuff and not just (bleep). So I recently bought this set of a fountain pen in a second hand shop for 8€. I am a total newbie to this sort of product and I would like to know how much I can sell it to collectors, on ebay or whatever. The trademark of the product is ''Senator regent''. In the set is: - Ink (Royal Blue-washable 1fl oz.) - Filler - Something I don't know - And a full brass bottle. It is unopened and unused, All the seals are unbroken as I can see it. But the packaging seems to be good condition, not really mint or near mint. The brass bottle is also not in the best condition because something seems to wear off. Please tell me something about the parts, the history of the trademark and this product if you know something, and the price I might be able to sell this for. Thanks a lot for your help! Jacob

http://i.imgur.com/4VS0dor.jpg?1 I also don't have much experience posting written content so I will be figuring out the best width for the page

Hello, fellow Fountain Pen geeks! I've always wanted a good fountain pen, but have only hitherto owned disposable ones, until yesterday, when I purchased what I beleive to be a Parker Sonnet. It took a bit to get the ink flowing after I stuck an ink cartridge in there, but it's kind of . . . halting. Sometimes it writes, and sometimes it doesn't. Did I do something wrong, or is this normal for fountain pens, you know, to take a bit to start writing without interruption? I store it upright, I put the cartridge in correctly, and write as I should with it, it just stops from time to time and I have to wait a bit or shake some ink out through the tip again to get it working. Thanks in advance!

Hello to all the experienced writers and drawers around the FP “fire”. Come to think of it I had some fps in my younger days that should have been thrown in the fire. Just learning lots of material here on the forum the last day or so. Don’t have any high end pens just a few every day users: Parker 45s, TWISBI, Lamy Safari, etc Write diary/journals, paper letters, and postcards often. Just very pleased to have found this wealth of knowledge and friendly people who want to help each other sort through this FP use and enjoyment. Regards, Sincerely, Dana