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In the previous poll topic I posted, I asked what people say to you when you use your fountain pen in the public. The reasoning for asking this was because I wanted to see the public's reaction to fountain pens and their users. The common perception is "posh", but what do people think of them, personally? Do they even care? A responder to the forum, jetsam, wrote as a response that this made him ask himself why he uses fountain pens, since we are bombarded with alternative choices, and then suggested I put this pseudo-existential question as a poll as well. I'm sure there are about as many reasons as there are users, but I figured it's worth thinking about it. Fountain pens are high maintenance (compared to alternatives anyway) and are often luxury items, since it's not really necessary to carry out your day-to-day tasks. It's not just for older generations either, since we have teenagers on here. My main reason is because I have very weak writing pressure, and I need ink to flow upon contact, not upon pressure. Not only that, I appreciate the variety of nibs and the colours a fountain pen can bring as options. What are your reasons?

I simply want to know, from fellow enthusiasts, why we love the pens of Japan so much. I know my reasons, but what are yours?

Dear All, Quick question... Could I please ask, as a recent convert to using fountain pens again, (after a 32 year gap) on what occasions would you use brown ink? I started off last year using Waterman and Quink in both blue and black. Then to be a bit flash, I started using Waterman Purple and Turquoise to add some colour to my letters. I've just started using Quink Blue/Black and I'm interested in trying a wine coloured ink, but to me, brown ink just looks like mud written with a twig. Thank you in advance. Jason