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Not unlike how things are in New Zealand, postage costs in Australia are almost prohibitive for exchanges and giveaways even when just sending stuff domestically, especially when they involve pens, which Australia Post has explicitly stated are not to be sent by letter post, which is far cheaper, but must be sent in parcels (Parcel Post minimum cost A$7.95) that are not subject to being stomped on by automated mail processing machinery. A better way may be to pass around a box of surplus and not-my-cup-of-tea-but-may-be-someone-else's items of up to 3kg, using a flat-rate prepaid mailing bag – costing A$13.80 to ship between any two points in Australia – and let participants take from it and add to it as they wish. I would like to gauge the level of interest in such an exercise. I'd be happy to put the following into a box, pay for the first leg of its journey and kickstart the process: 3 new Hero 395 pens fitted with converters; these pens supposedly have semi-flex steel nibs, which is a feature I personally don't care much about2 three-ounce bottles of Noodler's Baystate Concord Grape ink – one new, one mostly full1 three-ounce bottle of Noodler's Prime of the Commons blue-black contract ink – mostly full2 three-ounce bottles of Noodler's Polar Green ink – one new, one mostly full1 three-ounce bottle of Noodler's Polar Brown ink – mostly full1 three-ounce bottle of Noodler's Kiowa Pecan ink – newseveral 3ml samples (in plastic pipettes) of the new Sailor Nano souboku pigment ink; I just received my three bottles in the mail yesterdaya few 3ml samples of Sailor Nano kiwa-guro and seiboku pigment inksand possibly: one or two 3ml samples each of some De Atramentis scented, Diamine, and Pilot Iroshizuku inks I have.I'm still waiting on my eBay order of plastic pipettes to arrive from China, so it may take another three or so weeks before I'm ready to get the samples ready for shipping. I don't personally intend to track the box's travels, or who has taken or added what to it, but if participants could just post in this thread: that they want to be the box's next stopwhat is in the box, after they have received it, taken what they wanted and perhaps added to it themselves; andtheir commitment to sending it at their expense on to the next interested partyI think that ought to be sufficient to keep things moving. What do you think?

The very cool @amberleadavis sent me the Hero 5028 pen after she ordered the set, and wrote a review. I tried the pen and the nibs. They write well, and seem to need a home with someone who likes 1.5mm and 1.9mm nibs. I already have a few of each, and decided to offer it in my first PIF. The first person with a US address to PM me that they want this pen will get it. Here is a link to the review to see how the pen writes.

Our world is going through some difficult times, one of the consequences is that people have not been able to travel. Usually pens would be carried during travels; since traveling in person has become challenging, maybe we as a community let some of our pens travel ? I'm sure this idea has been tried before, but here goes. I'll call this FPN-Traveling Pen Initiative (very imaginative name, i know ) . The intention is simple, we let the pen travel and let others in this community try and enjoy them. Please read the rules and participate only if you agree to it. we'll receive a pen from an original donor - the person now sets the pen free and gives up ownership the person who receives the pen, gets to keep, use and enjoy the pen for 15 weeksthe receiver commits to ship the pen (at own cost) to the next randomly picked person from the list (People who have expressed their desire to do so on this thread by the date-time stated below)once the next person is picked, exchange the postal address in PM so that we don't fall foul of the GDPR/privacy regulationsyou may choose to select a person in the same country or continent if the shipping charges are significant and/or challenges with customsthe receiver commits to use FP specific inks, so that others can keep enjoying the pen. Avoid india-inks or shimmery inks that might clog the feedplease clean the nib unit thoroughly before shippingif in the 15 weeks you get a chance to travel to a different country, do take that opportunity to give/ship to a person in that country (from the list), as long as it is legal to do so (export/import regulations)if the pen gets lost / damaged in your custody, mention it on this thread and set another similar priced pen free on the FPN-TPIwhen you ship it to the next person, do consider writing a nice handwritten letterIf every one on the initial list has had a chance to enjoy the pen, call for another oneplease avoid sending the pen to the same person again, keep the spirit true as soon as you receive the pen, post a pic / msg on this thread Let me be the first donor - a mint set of Diplomat Marrakesh Raute FP with a 14K B nib and a matching mechanical pencil. I'll include the full package as well as a slightly used diplomat converter for ease. All entries on or before 7th Aug 2020 23:59CET will be considered for the list. I can ship within EU, the receiver may choose to widen the area, of course. -DanceOfLight P.S - this is works, I might consider setting more pens free on the FPN-TPI. let me know.

I have way too many pens and inks, and I am trying to simplify. So I am offering 4 bundles of bottled inks. Unless indicated, bottles are 90% full or more. (some have had only a fill or two out of them). All bottles have been purchased within the last 12 months - most of them during COVID era. All of these inks are terrific and will make you happy. The rules are simple: First come, first served. State your selection in a thread reply, so everyone knows what's been taken.Send me a PM so we can work out shipping. Shipped free to CONUS. Outside of CONUS, you'll just pay the USPS shipping rates. Noodler's Lot (3 Bottles): American Eel Black (~ 70% full)Red Rattler American EelAir Corps Blue Black Waterman Lot (3 bottles) Mysterious BlueAudacious RedSerenity Blue (~40-50% full) Parker Quink Lot (3 Bottles - all ~ 70% full) BlackWashable BlueBlue Black Mixed Lot (3 Bottles) Noodler's BurgundyPrivate Reserve Sherwood Green Fast DryAurora Blue

I can't tell you what it is, but I like it. Even starting a bit hard and drying slow enough to semi-fail the Southpaw Test. Thanks again to Inky En-Abe-Lawyer amberleadavis for the PIF. This will be very nice to sketch and water-wash with. http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/8815/8992/5440/Mystery_Ink_BC_001-640p.jpg The chromas seem to break into yellowy, peachy, rusty shades. Paper towel chroma, name brand towel http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/2715/8992/5440/Mystery_Ink_B_Chroma_001-640p.jpg Paper towel chroma, cheap towel http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/6315/8992/5441/Mystery_Ink_C_Chroma_001-640p.jpg

I have a bottle of Iroshizuku Take-Sumi that I bought in December. I have maybe used 20-25% of it. It's a divine black ink. But I have several blacks, and this one isn't getting the attention it deserves. So I figured I would pay it forward. I will include the box, of course. I'll pay postage to USA. First come, first serve. Who wants it?

It's time for me to make good on what I've been talking about for a while, now that my order of plastic blunt tip needle attachments of syringes have finally arrived, and all the bits are in place. I'm giving away a set of (~0.75ml) samples of seven iron-gall inks: Platinum Classic Ink Cassis BlackPlatinum Classic Ink Forest BlackPlatinum Classic Ink Khaki BlackPlatinum Classic Ink Lavender BlackKWZ Ink Aztec Gold IGLKWZ Ink IG Green #3KWZ Ink IG TurquoiseThe volume is chosen to match what one would get from an international short ink cartridge, without being strictly being limited by the diameter of the 'nipple' on the feed or post inside the grip section, in case someone has a pen that uses a proprietary format (such as Sailor, Platinum, Pilot and Parker) converter. I will include a 1ml syringe with a 14-gauge blunt tip needle attachment, so the ink can be transferred into the cavity of any converter, empty ink cartridge, the barrels of 'eyedropper' pens, and even some piston-fillers from which the nib and feed can be easily removed by the user to access the pen's ink reservoir. I intend to send the ink sample set as a large letter (in a corrugated cardboard mailer 'envelope') and not a parcel. Australia Post is perfectly happy to accept the article as just that, when I showed the staff at my local post office. That makes international postage charges for the article not that much (at about 60%) more than domestic postage charges. The only question is whether the recipient's country postal regulations will deem the contents acceptable; I have to fill out a CN22 customs declaration if I send it outside of Australia. In view of this, the way I'm conducting this giveaway is: Please express your interest in being the recipient by making a post in this thread before 11 November 2019.There is no restriction based on country or geography on expressions of interest. Anyone from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK (for example, but not exhaustively) who puts his/her hand up for it will be treated equally.The letter mail postage charges will be paid for on my end, thanks to @mariom.If you're outside of Australia and you're interested, then you have to include in your expression-of-interest post a link to the part/section of your country's postal regulations regarding dangerous, prohibited and 'non-mailable' items so that I can verify it's OK, since I'm the responsible party for filling out a CN22 customs declaration form for the article. I will use a random number generator to select the recipient from all eligible entries on 12 November 2019.This is the general format of how I intend to do future ink sample giveaways, after a lot of thought and non-trivial investment of effort and funds in getting suitable mailer envelopes, ink containers, syringe needle attachments, etc. together. Right now I've got other ink sample sets in plan for pigment inks, inks of a particular colour family, etc. and I would be open to feedback on what to include in future sets. What will not change is the approximate volume of each ink in a sample set, and the type of ink container to use. However, if anyone has better ideas of how to more time- and cost-efficiently offer others just enough of 'a taste' to decide whether they want to spend money on buying retail bottles of particular inks for themselves, I'm all ears.

This year I am again offering a PiF. My 2018 PiF includes six fountain pens, one for each of six winners. WHAT YOU CAN WIN ITALIX. Churchman’s Prescriptor. Steel Medium Italic nib; Cartridge/converter pen; no converter included. Screw-cap. MONTBLANC. Model 145, I think. 14k nib (I bought it as a Medium). Modern cartridge/converter pen. I bought this in filthy condition and although I have been able to clean it up somewhat and get it writing, the converter is stuck in the pen and I have never been able to remove it. Screw-cap. PILOT. Vanishing point/capless. 18k Medium nib. Black body & clip. Comes with a converter (whatever came with the pen; I think it’s the CON-50). STIPULA. Monnalisa, with titanium nib. This has a retractable nib. Cartridge only, due to twisting mechanism (I don’t think any converter would fit). Shown in the photo with partly-extended nib to show mechanism. WATERMAN. Phileas (that’s what I bought it as). Medium steel nib. Cartridge/converter pen; no converter included. Snap-cap. WEAREVER. Pacemaker (I think: barrel engraving is well-worn, so it’s hard to read). Steel nib (F or EF) and transparent feed. The inner lining of the cap is present, but loose. Button-filler. Screw-cap. ELIGIBILITY Anyone who has not previously won a PiF from me may enter.You may only make one entry, for one pen: anyone making more than one entry will be disqualified. ENTRY AND PROCESS To enter, respond on this thread, confirming that you have read the conditions and notes, and saying which of the pens you want. I’ll then put you onto the appropriate list.Deadline for entries is 23:59 on Sunday 30 September 2018, Central European Time (i.e. 17h59 on the US East Coast). I may bump this a few times before the deadline.As soon as I can after the closing date (work and other commitments permitting), I’ll draw the six winners at random and inform the winners on this thread.Winners will have a week to confirm via PM that they still want the pen; we can work out specific details thereafter.Once the details are sorted, I’ll post out the pens. I won’t commit to a specific time-frame on this, except to say that I’ll do it as soon as I can. SPECIAL CONDITIONS By entering, you commit, if you win, to: keeping the pen, giving it away or swapping it (not selling it). posting a picture of a writing sample on this thread once you have received your pen. POSTAGE I shall pay standard postage to anywhere in the world. If you want any extras (e.g., insurance, courier), you will need to cover the postage costs.I shall send the pens from within the European Union. If you live outside the EU, I will have to fill out a customs form: I'll label your pen a gift, but also declare a reasonable value. You may have to pay customs, import duty and/or other fees. Any such payments are your own responsibility. NOTES I reserve the right to close the PiF early for any or all of the pens if the number of entries becomes too large.If you have a gazillion pens already, please think twice before entering (and maybe be prepared to offer one of your existing pens of a similar value as a PiF if you win).These are rather nice pens: why am I giving them away? I have spent the last few years enjoying working out what I particularly like in a fountain pen. I liked these pens well enough to buy them, but in practice I don’t like them enough to really use them. For example, the Pilot writes beautifully, but I just cannot befriend the clip. I could sell them, but I want to give something back to the community that has given me so much pleasure and information over the years.Finally, I make no guarantee about the performance of any of these pens. All I can say is that they each worked fine the last time I used them, cleaned them and put them away. Good luck to all entrants. And now for a picture of the prizes...

I hope to find 2 individual winners for the 2 pens. I've enjoyed the forums for many years now and I hope to contribute back a little with my first PIF. What you can win 1. Italix Parson's Essential - Medium Oblique Nib. No converter included. 2. FPR Himalaya - Flex Nib. Converter included. Eligibility - Anyone is welcome to enter. - Only one entry per person - please specify which pen interests you. Process - Deadline for entry is end of day 7th Jan 2019. - Winner will be selected based on random lottery. Postage - $5 for standard postage via Royal Mail UK. Payable via Paypal. - I will post the pen in a padded envelope. Notes - I have enjoyed these pens over the last couple years but recently they haven't seen much use, hence I feel they would be more useful to someone else. However, I can't guarantee the performance of these pens but I can confirm that they worked great when I last used them. Thank you for your entries. Kind regards, Sidd

UK only. As per the title I have a #5 Bock Ti XF that has been sitting in my nib tin for a long time. I purchased it as I was transitioning to stubs and cursive italics. It has seen very little use. As in perhaps three A5 pages. Mounted in a Jowo housing. To the first person with 200 posts. £5 for posting/packaging.

I truly believe that this "pay it forum" thread works. Paying it forward reaps rewards in life, in general, and it works here regarding pen-related goodies. My most recent experience: after I offered up a PIF package and mailed it last week, I received two awesome FP-related gifts. One was a deluxe bottle of ink (thoughtfully in my favorite color group) from my music teacher. Another was a surprise package of 4 sample vials of inks I've never tried, courtesy of a member of this site who I'd been chatting with. Once upon a time, this PIF forum was very active. It has slowed down some and I think it'd be great to see more activity. If you have pen and ink goodies getting dusty around your place, please consider offering them up! They will make someone else very happy, won't go to waste, will help you streamline your collection (and give you a good excuse to buy more, if you're looking for justification), and you'll be blessed with good stationery karma! (I promise I am not suggesting this so that I can request anything that may be offered. To be clear on that, I won't request or enter any PIFs for the remainder of 2017.) Thanks in advance to anyone willing to participate in this PIF challenge.

Hello all, The Pay-it-Forward project is official and now has a website! The web-address is https://StationeryPIF.com (yes, we also have http://StationaryPIF.com/ redirecting, incase someone mispells it) and all traffic from https://ThePenthusiast.com/pif should also go to this new webpage. We're just looking to get some opinions on it, in terms of thoughts and ideas for things that we should add/remove/change around. Thanks in advance, -- The Pay-it-Forward Crew

The Pilot Parallel is a fun calligraphy pen, but I'm not an expert in using it, and don't really use it that much these days. So I decided to give it away! I've got two of them actually, the 1.5mm and the 3.8mm version. Both are part of this giveaway. To enter, you need to: Have at least 20 posts on FPN.Write a hand-written note (maybe 4-5 sentences, but of course you can write more) about why you would like to have the Pilot Parallel and what would you do with it.Add a few words about yourself (nothing uncomfortable, though).Post the hand-written note to this thread.Indicate which one you would like: 1.5mm (orange), or 3.8mm (green), or both.Rules: Winners will be selected at the beginning of february.I will cover shipping unless it's prohibitively expensive. Have fun!

I have to downsize my office area so I have some ink that needs to go to a good home. This PIF is for the US only, I will pay the postage. I would prefer it go to someone who is new to pens, but the first person to send a PM with their address can have the lot. I have following to give away: A full bottle of Noodler’s Bad Blue Heron, a box of 12 Pilot Black cartridges, a box of 7 Mont Blanc Permanent Blue cartridges. a sample of Noodler's Luxury Blue, a sample of Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue, a sample of Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, a sample of Noodler's Blue Black and a sample of Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher.

One bottle of KWZ IG Orange ink - which fascinatingly changes from orange to brown as it oxidises - but which I am not going to use. I have used about 1.5 ml out of a 60ml bottle, which is still in the box - so practically new. I will post to anywhere in the EU, but not outside. First come, first served, by PM. It may take me a few days to get it posted. David

I have a nice little Parker Jotter fountain pen that works nicely, but I just don't use it anymore. So instead of having it collect dust in my drawer, I decided to PIF it away to somebody who wants to use it. After all, it's christmas and why not bring a smile to someone who would like it. I will ship it anywhere, but ask the recipient to cover the shipping cost if it's too expensive. If you are interested, please write a few words about yourself (nothing uncomfortable, though) and what you will use the pen for. That's all! The winner will be selected this weekend, so it's gonna be a true christmas present. (Although it might take a few weeks to actually ship.) If I can find a Parker cartridge, I will ship that together with the pen.

Hello All, A little while ago, I bought a vintage Sheaffer's Skrip bottle of #82 washable purple ink. I purchased it more for the bottle's built-in inkwell, and thought the remaining ink would be a nice bonus. After I tried it I realized that, although nice, it just wasn't a shade of purple that I liked. But, that might be your gain! Details on the ink characteristics are below. But first, the rules: - TWO lucky folks will win ink. I'll be giving each person 15ml of washable purple ink (5 vials with 3ml each) - Open to Continental US only, free first-class shipping. - Enter by simply posting a reply from now until the night of Sunday, March 12, 2017, 8pm Eastern Standard Time. I'll post again when the deadline is passed. - After the deadline, I'll choose two winners via random.org, announce them here and PM them. - If 7 days passes with no reply from a winner, I'll repeat the drawing. I must say that the ink is surprsingly well-behaved (using my medium nib on Apica notepaper). When on the paper wet, it is a dark purple, but dries to what I would say is more of a medium lilac/grey. Some shading, not heavily saturated. It does have strong-ish chemical odor. Here is a snapshot of it. Good luck, all! Rich

I have a user-grade black Parker 61 (the aerometric version) and I'd like it to go to a student. So, if interested please send me a PM stating what you study and where by Saturday. I'll decide who gets it on Sunday and ship it on Monday. The usual restrictions apply: you are expected not to sell this pen but to PIF it to the next user.

Hello! I hope that this is the right place to post this. I'm sure some of you have heard now about the DC Pen Show's first ever Pay-It-Forward Table dedicated to giving back to the community! Krystle Azer of SquishyInk (creator of the Hippo Noto) will be at the table as well, running it with me. There will be starter kits available for new FP users, as well as items for FP veterans. So if you have any pens or pen paraphernalia that is collecting dust, we are happy to pass it along to other members of the community. The FP community is one of the very best things about the hobby, and this is just a way to further give and share in the spirit of ink. Check the link below for more details. https://www.thepenthusiast.com/dc-pen-show-pay-it-forward-table **this is not for profit and all things donated will be given free of charge or go toward the cost of the table.

Hi, If anyone in the UK could do with a few ink transfer pipettes drop me a PM and I'll post you a few free of charge. Supposedly disposable, but they wash out and can be re-used several times. I ordered too many... Anyone outside of the UK is welcome to some if they're happy to contribute towards postage. Richard

PIF - Boston Brahmin Blue by Noodlers. Ink has been claimed.

It's time for another Ink Giveaway PIF! I am giving away a nearly full bottle of Caran d'Ache Turquoise Green ink. This is an older ink that is discontinued. I think Caran d'Ache renamed this ink as "Caribbean Sea" ink before it was discontinued, and it has a devoted following. Here are the rules: 1) United States only. 2) Winners of my previous PIFs (Levenger, OMAS, Rotring, J. Herbin, Montblanc inks) are not eligible for this PIF. 3) Everyone who posts on this thread saying they want the ink through Saturday, February 11, 2017 is eligible. 4) On Sunday, Februrary 12, 2017 I'll post here to close the PIF and everyone ahead of me in the thread will be entered. I'll select a winner using the random number generator at random.org. I'll list the winner here, and contact them via PM to set up shipment. 5) I will ship to the winner for free, in exchange for a letter or postcard from you containing handwritten samples of your five favorite ink colors. Or, you can pay for shipping, whichever you prefer. (I will ship via USPS). OR if you will be attending the LA Pen Show on public day February 19, we can meet and I can give you the ink in person. 6) Winners who don't respond to my PM within three days after close of the PIF will forfeit their winning. I'll draw again to find another winner. Here are some photos and a writing sample of the ink.

It's time for another Ink Giveaway PIF! I am giving away most of a bottle of Montblanc Bordeaux (Burgundy Red) ink. Montblanc has renamed and reformulated their inks since I bought this bottle, so I don't know if it is the same as the modern Burgundy color. I am keeping the original Montblanc bottle the ink came in. I have transferred it to an old bottle that once held Quink Black, which is how you will receive it. Here are the rules: 1) United States only. 2) Winners of my previous PIFs (Levenger, OMAS, Rotring, J. Herbin inks) are not eligible for this PIF. 3) Everyone who posts on this thread saying they want the ink through Tuesday, January 17, 2017 is eligible. 4) On Wednesday, January 18, 2017 I'll post here to close the PIF and everyone ahead of me in the thread will be entered. I'll select a winner using the random number generator at random.org. I'll list the winner here, and contact them via PM to set up shipment. 5) I will ship to the winner for free, in exchange for a letter or postcard from you containing handwritten samples of your five favorite ink colors. Or, you can pay for shipping, whichever you prefer. (I will ship via USPS). 6) A winner who doesn't respond to my PM within three days after close of the PIF will forfeit their winning. I'll draw again to find another winner. Here is a writing sample of the ink. Here's the ink in the bottle you will receive:

It's time for another Ink Giveaway PIF! I am giving away most of a bottle of Rotring Persian Red ink. Rotring no longer makes bottled fountain pen ink, so this ink has been out of production for some time. The ink was originally packaged in a bottle with a fill spout, that could fill a converter directly from the bottle (I will attempt to attach a photo). The cap has cracked, so I was forced to transfer the ink to some small jars, which is the way you will receive it. Each jar holds 15ml, and there are about one and a half jars of ink. Here are the rules: 1) United States only. 2) Winners of my previous PIFs (Levenger and OMAS inks) are not eligible for this PIF. 3) Everyone who posts on this thread saying they want the ink through Tuesday, January 3, 2017 is eligible. 4) On January 4, 2017 I'll post here to close the PIF and everyone ahead of me in the thread will be entered. I'll select a winner using the random number generator at random.org. I'll list the winner here, and contact them via PM to set up shipment. 5) You can enter as many of my PIFs as you want, but you can win only one. In the event the same FPN member wins two PIFs, I'll ask you to choose which you want. I'll draw another name to win the other prize. 6) I will ship to the winner for free, in exchange for a letter or postcard from you containing handwritten samples of your five favorite ink colors. Or, you can pay for shipping, whichever you prefer. (I will ship via USPS). 7) Winners who don't respond to my PM within three days after close of the PIF will forfeit their winning. I'll draw again to find another winner. Bottle: http://i.imgur.com/pdEvvxx.jpg Writing Sample: http://i.imgur.com/GuZhWsh.jpg

It's time for another Ink Giveaway PIF! I am giving away a nearly full bottle of J. Herbin Orange Indien ink. This ink is similar to the OMAS Orange I gave away in an earlier PIF, but is a little less saturated. Here are the rules: 1) United States only. 2) Winners of my previous PIFs (Levenger and OMAS inks) are not eligible for this PIF. 3) Everyone who posts on this thread saying they want the ink through Tuesday, January 3, 2017 is eligible. 4) On January 4, 2017 I'll post here to close the PIF and everyone ahead of me in the thread will be entered. I'll select a winner using the random number generator at random.org. I'll list the winner here, and contact them via PM to set up shipment. 5) You can enter as many of my PIFs as you want, but you can win only one. In the event the same FPN member wins two PIFs, I'll ask you to choose which you want. I'll draw another name to win the other prize. 6) I will ship to the winner for free, in exchange for a letter or postcard from you containing handwritten samples of your five favorite ink colors. Or, you can pay for shipping, whichever you prefer. (I will ship via USPS). 7) Winners who don't respond to my PM within three days after close of the PIF will forfeit their winning. I'll draw again to find another winner. Here is a writing sample of the ink.