Search the Community

Hi there. I have created a new blog, listing some of my favorite pens, and there is a section on how to achieve better penmanship. I would love to get some comments from the readers of the Fountain Pen Network about the pens. I would also like to have your ideas on how to achieve clearer, nicer-looking writing. You may be the first person to reply to my blog! Thank you. Bruce Leeds

Yesterday I received a VFM in the mail and I was a little annoyed that it only took cartridges (I knew going into it that it only took cartridges but I was willing to get it anyways). So now I'm wondering what I can do to stuff a converter in it. I am already aware that the Kaweco converter fits and I know that I can just refill the cartridges but what I want to know is if anyone has figured out any ways to fit a standard converter in it. Sorry to ask a question that already has answers but I'm just curious as to what other solutions exist.

Hello guys yesterday i bought this Sheaffer VFM so as always ill review it in a simple way! i bought it for 17$ so the price is good the pen comes with a Steel M nib without any styling on it just the word SHEAFFER and the letter M on it so nothing interesting, the pen looks nice and simple i bought the silver one since i have the Pilot Metropolitan in Black and i didnt find other colors other than Black and Silver, nice cigare shape with a small ring on the section that says Sheaffer three times.., the pen is made from metal but still got a nice weight, the section is made from a glossy plastic material the a silver grip ring if i may call it like that, the Nib is pretty smooth for a steel nib its really great. overall the pen is really a great writer and for the price its better than a lot of 100$ FPs, one of my daily writers for sure along with the Pilot Metropolitan and my P45s. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/hfarmawi/IMG110_zpsb883a35f.jpg

Hello there! My name is Hal and I am 21 years old living in a small town in South Carolina. Ever since I can remember, I have loved office supplies. Being able to attach two pieces of paper together with a paper clip, or jotting down a note on a Post-It. I love drawers and compartments, pockets and shelves. I love having everything arranged from smallest to largest or alphabetically. Office supply stores and art supply stores are my safe haven. When I was younger, before I even knew what a fountain pen was, ballpoint pens were my life. I LOVED those little cheap BIC pens that retail 5 or 6 bucks for 60 pens. Or the pens you'd get at a hotel, I would always ask the front desk for more. And those little pads of paper they would give you as well. I would always write notes to the hotel staff in chicken scratch and be so incredibly proud of myself. I knew nothing about pens, haha. I can tell you back when I was younger, if I'd have held something like a Parker Jotter, I really would have thought I had the nicest pen in the world in my hands. The first time I received a Parker Jotter was one of my happiest days. Back when the Jotter was such a great pen, since then it just seems to be cheap. As I got older, I discovered the gel rollerball world. I went through dozens of Uniball's. And even up until recently, gel rollerballs were just my favorite pen. I still have dozens of Pilot Hi-Tec-C's and Pilot Juice's...still have TONS of Pilot Precise V5 RT (my favorite rollerball). Now, I always had problem with ink bleeding through. PAPER was my next big thing. I thought Moleskine's were the greatest creation. Really, just like holding a Parker Jotter, I thought holding a Moleskine was just the nicest notebook in the world. The more and more I got into pens and paper the more YouTube videos I started to discover. I stumbled upon The Goulet Pen Company. I had to try a fountain pen. I went to my local Office Max and stared at the 50, 60, 100 dollar fountain pens, drooling. It was only as I was about to walk out the door when I saw a display for the Pilot Varsity. They had pens out in several colors for customers to test drive the pen. I picked up a black one and started scribbling on the paper provided. I fell in love. I immediately picked up a 3-pack of the pens. I fell in love. For less than 10 dollars, I had 3 brand new fountain pens. Me and my ugly handwriting were having a blast with these pens. Then I discovered paper. Wow, what another world. I never knew paper could get better than that Moleskine. Boy, was I dead wrong. But I didn't know any better. I didn't know what Clairefontaine was, I had never heard of Maruman or Kokuyo. I didn't know that Rhodia existed. All I knew was my Moleskine. My school started selling Clairefontaine 1951's in the bookstore. I picked one up and my fountain pen loved it. I immediately ditched my Moleskine and snatched up several of these little books. Well. I wanted a fountain pen. A real one. Brian Goulet made a video of his top 3 favorite fountain pens. I was drooling while he talked about his Pilot Custom 74 and his Lamy 2000. But then he mentioned a pen that I, again, had no idea existed. The Pilot Metropolitan. I immediately ordered one off of Amazon with some Noodler's Blue ink. It came a couple days later and immediately inked that baby up. (After spilling the Noodler's everywhere. They fill it SUPER full, haha) Wow, the Metro writes like a dream. It really was the best feeling pen I'd held. And the ink just flows wonderfully. It's such a great pen. Since then, (then only being a few months ago), I've bought myself a Sheaffer 100, Sheaffer VFM, various Preppy's and Varsity's, a Lamy Safari, and a Jinhao X750. I'm in a brand new world. I have Rhodia pads, Clairefontaine notebooks, Habana journals scattered everywhere. I could go on, but that is probably enough for now. Thank you so much for reading. -Hal