Search the Community

Hi, I am justin and I am from a small town called leesburg Texas, I have formed a pen club for individuals from around the area. Called the East Texas Pen Club if anyone is interested, we would love to have several new members. We meet on the first Saturday of every month in Longview, although this one is being rescheduled due to the severe weather we had. You can message me or you can find us on Facebook if you would like some more information. As I said we are new and have only had one meeting so far. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1073648183520263/?ref=share_group_link

Hey Guys, I am looking to pick up a Lamy 2000 as my first gold nib pen. I have had a Lamy Aion (M) for a while and really like it (except for the cap rattle, but I've been able to fix that with some tinkering. With the Aion, the medium is good when writing on quality paper (i.e. Rhodia), but when I write on lesser quality (I write on medical charts all day), I find it slightly too bold. I'm really torn as to if I should get it in a Fine or Medium nib because it is an investment. I have been searching all over the DFW metroplex for a place where I could test both to see which one I prefer before buying. Im normally willing to take the risk, but I really would like this pen to be my daily workhorse. I have found few places in DFW that carry fountain pens in general and none that carry the Lamy 2000. I am also aware of the Dallas Pen Collectors Club, but it doesn't look like their next meeting is until June! I am also driving to Austin this Friday, so any places there would also be appreciated! If anybody knows a place where I could test one out, it would be a miracle. If not, any opinions on the Lamy 2000 nibs would be amazing! Y'all are the best!

Are there any Houston specific pen groups/clubs/facebook groups? If not, would anyone be interested in joining a facebook group if I create one?

A coworker came into my office yesterday. She had entered a raffle to raise money for a friend, and she'd won a custom fountain pen! Since I'm the biggest fountain pen lover in the office, she offered it to me for free. And here's what a I got: A custom pen from Mini Wood Productions (MWP). It's based on their "Füller" series. MWP is based in Conroe, Texas. Their website says that their pens aren't "kit" but rather "create one at a time on a manual lathe." What an interesting pen. The body is aluminum, but pretty thick (making for a heavy pen-- sorry that I don't have a small enough scale to accurately measure). On their regular Fuller pens, the section is aluminum too, but I think this one has a copper section. The section is long -- about 23 mm -- with a couple of grooves near the top of the section for grip. There's a serious step down from the body to the section, but because the section is so long, it's not noticeable when you hold the pen. The cap, though, is acrylic -- listed as "alumilite" on the package I got. The cap is gorgeous -- lovely green, red, orange swirls with flecks dancing and highlighting the pattern. But it is super light compared to the body of the pen. And it sits in stark contrast to the utilitarian look of the aluminum body and the aluminum finial. The cap has no band, but I guess it doesn't need one because of the contrast to the aluminum body. Almost like two different pens smooshed together. The cap doesn't post-- it's a few millimeters too small to do so. Finally, there's no clip, so the pen rolls were it wants (and the cap does too if you put it on your desk while you're writing). This pen comes with a #6 EF from Edison. It writes smooth and clean right out of the (cardboard) box. But the website indicates that the "standard" Fullers come with Jowo nibs. I have to say, I've never seen a pen like this before. I really dig the beautiful cap, and the body is not uncomfortable to write with (if you like heavier pens), but the juxtaposition of the two is just a little shocking, at least initially. I'm so grateful to my colleague who gave me the pen, and I'll keep it inked with Birmingham Pen Honus Wagner Brown for a while -- it might be my editing pen. And for anyone looking for a unique, customizable pen, check out MWP.

Cheers from Houston, Texas! I'm glad to be here and I hope you can all teach me a thing or two (or a million!). I'm very new to the fountain pen world. I picked up calligraphy last year and was hooked. Calligraphy led to hoarding inks and now, fountain pens! My first order from Goulet Pens arrived today. I have used LAMY rollerballs for years and decided to pick up one of the petrol fine-nibbed fountain pens. I filled a converter with J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor and must say, I'm in love! I also ordered a Noodler's Ahab with the flex nib to have something like a calligraphy dip. As I dive in deeper, I'm seeing all of the beautiful pens from other companies. I think I would like to get a Monteverde Invicia in black chrome next and maybe a LAMY Al-Star, but I want to see how I do with the two I have now. I'm open to suggestions for next purchases, though! Any tips for beginners?

Join Dromgoole's for a pen event with Faber-Castell this Saturday! Saturday, June 20th 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 2515 Rice Blvd. Houston, Texas 77005 Contact Larry for more details: 713.526.4651 or dromgooles@sbcglobal.net

Join Dromgoole's for a Pen Event with Andreas Lambrou. Saturday, June 13, 2015 11a.m.- 3 p.m. 2515 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77005 Larry: dromgooles@sbcglobal.net 713.526.4651 See you there!

Hello! I've always loved writing with interesting pens and was gifted my first fountain pen years ago by an ex-boyfriend. Well, with the help of a coworker, I am now becoming a little obsessed. In the past month or two, I've bought several new fountain pens and an endless supply of inks. I'm an English teacher by day, just graduated with my master's degree in History, and I've decided that fountain pens and such will be my new hobby. My favorite ink right now is J. Herbin's 1670 Anniversary Rouge Hematite - I can't get enough of it. I currently have several True Writer pens from Levenger, a Lamy All-Star, and I'm waiting for a Waterford pen to come in. Hello all! -Erica

So, I have had a difficult, on again / off again relationship with fountain pens since grade school, mostly due to my Texan-male-football-trained brain that thought the correct way to do (almost) everything was to use more force; I can't even begin to count the number of bent nibs scattered through my past. After escaping high school in a small West Texas town, I became a classical musician, and then a composer, then a teacher of and for classical composition, and finally an ex-teacher composing musician with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the pain of writing everyday (I refuse to use a computer to compose) became too much to bear. A friend gave me a Lamy Al-Star and taught me to "let it glide." Almost instantly I found what I had been missing out on all these years, and I love how little effort jotting out a manuscript takes! I recently purchased a Platinum 3776 Century w/ Music Nib, and now I am hooked.