Is The Fountain Pen Industry It's Own Worst Enemy?

[mhm802]

What puzzles me is why there should be a disconnect in the first place: if you've never used a fountain pen but for whatever reason you want to try, why on earth wouldn't you ask for instructions and learn how? if you've been given the thing as a gift, ditto. And once logic has taken to you the point that you need instruction, well there is a wealth of information available...

 

(I have never held a gun in my life, or gone skydiving, or driven a motorcycle, but if I wanted to try any of those things, I'd sure have common sense enough to get some lessons in advance... )

[MisterBoll]

I recently got into straight razors. Not one has come with instructions.

 

If you want to learn something you can't do it by sitting on your............

[HedgeMage]

As others have stated, most pens I've bought have come with filling instructions. As for general pen care and usage...do you expect a car dealer to teach you to drive, too?

 

 

Expecting $3 or $8 or $25 pens to be nibmeistered before shipping would mean the end ot $3, $8, and $25 pens. The internet has search engines, people can find FPN and other sources of info if they need help.

[apkayle]

 

You're astounded that people live in places where there is no demand to support pen shops, and thus do not have the option of testing pens, however much they would like to?

I buy my pens online because I have to.

 

 

Not only do many of us HAVE to buy pens online, but it is cheaper. Well, by cheaper you have to value how much you're willing to pay for dip testing and handling demo pens.

 

I'd imagine the Goulets and isellpens are more cost efficient than brick and mortar stores that try to expand their physical presence since you're selling pens from one source that costs land rent rather than many locations that induce more land rent costs.

[arcadeflow]

What puzzles me is why there should be a disconnect in the first place: if you've never used a fountain pen but for whatever reason you want to try, why on earth wouldn't you ask for instructions and learn how? if you've been given the thing as a gift, ditto. And once logic has taken to you the point that you need instruction, well there is a wealth of information available...

 

(I have never held a gun in my life, or gone skydiving, or driven a motorcycle, but if I wanted to try any of those things, I'd sure have common sense enough to get some lessons in advance... )

 

I absolutely agree, there is no reason not to educate new users. This whole attitude of bashing those who don't understand fountain pens is snob, elitist and sad. The more people interested in them, the more pen companies will rise or survive, there is no reason not to educate people and build interest. Plus, it would be a lot easier to use those pens without people commenting on how fancy they are, thinking you are a poser/show off.

 

Maybe most companies are afraid to associate themselves with new users by gearing packaging towards them? Maybe they believe the money only comes from pen collectors that enjoy the "I'm so pro I don't need instructions" philosophy.

[TimGirdler]

This post allows me to comment on some important aspects of pens and nibs. I do not, in any way, intend these comments to belittle GabrielleDuVent.

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them. Don't get me wrong, I do love me convenience, especially since I hate going outside (and always have). But it's something you use everyday, and even with finest quality control each nib is different. Even my varsities are different.

I understand this idea...testing before one buys. However, the analogy to buying a musical instrument is only half-right. If one is buying a brass instrument, for example, there is little that can be done to make a less-than-stellar instrument perform correctly. I say this having been an accomplished trumpet player and having studied trumpet with William Vacchiano (among others) who was the principal trumpet player of the New York Philharmonic from 1938-1973.

 

Nibs, on the other hand, are a different story. Nibs can and should be tuned. There is a reason that every pen that is sold by Richard Binder, John Mottishaw, Mike & Linda Kennedy (at Indy-Pen-Dance), and me, someday, are tuned.

 

Many workers at many pen shops simply have no clue when it comes to fountain pens. They do not use them, they do not demonstrate them properly, and they are, frankly, incompetent to sell fountain pens. There are, for sure, notable exceptions, but in my experience, the exceptions are exceptionally rare.

I suppose this comings from my upbringing; to me, buying your (main) pen online is akin to buying your musical instrument online. You have to test them out, see how it feels in your hands, what the nib feels like (every company has different nib standards). Would you buy a MB LeGrand, Classique, or Mozart? You have to test out the pens to decide; Mozart's teeny tiny in my hands, Classique is too thick. What about the nibs? Do you write more, or draw more? Maybe write lots of equations?

 

All these questions depend greatly on knowing your own preferences--and, as the OP might allude to, very few know what they will or won't like.

 

If you've tested out the pens in the shops, then you should know whether the nib is scratchy or not. If it is and it wasn't in the shop, then it's either the ink or the paper.

Most nibs are not good out of the box. As much as I love Pelikan pens, their nibs, for the most part, all have to be tinkered with before the pen will write smoothly.

 

In fact, I've heard one prominent nib-guy muse about the "old days" where even drug stores might employ someone to tune the nibs on the pens they were selling.

 

It isn't feasible for the companies who make the pens to tune each nib. It is, however, possible for the retailers to tune the nibs before the pens are delivered to the customers. But, most stores don't know what is possible with a nib, most stores, frankly, don't care if your pen is scratchy or has a starting/skipping issue, and they are not likely to change because there is no money in it for them, or so they might think.

 

Ideally, every new pen that is sold should be tuned properly--like Binder, Mottishaw, and Kennedy do. For these retailers, that's part of the price of a new pen, and one doesn't really pay that much more for buying a tuned pen from them.

 

Also, there are people, such as myself and Linda Kennedy, who have set out to learn the art of nib tuning (and nib grinding) from reputable and well-known nib-guys because we see a need--properly writing pens.

 

I remember my first "Binderized" pen. I had NO idea that writing with a fountain pen could be that good. I just assumed the scratchiness, the hard-starting, and the skipping were things that one had to put up with if he or she wanted to write with a fountain pen.

 

Sadly, many people don't know any better. They don't know what a fountain pen can be like. They like the idea of the fountain pen and accept the poor writing out of ignorance. Like CS Lewis said, "We are far too easily pleased." [1] We are "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is mean by the offer of a holiday at the sea." [2]

 

It would be better, if those who sold pens learned to tune them properly or employed those who know how to tune them properly. I believe the industry would grow if that were the case. Most companies, however, only think short-term. A long-term idea would see the value in such a thing. But, that's not the world in which we seem to live.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

 

 

[1] http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/702-it-would-seem-that-our-lord-finds-our-desires-not

 

[2] Ibid.

[BT-7274]

Well, the thing is, just like a sub-$100 violin, a cheapie pen would write properly in good hands. The reason why some violins are priced so highly is because when playing major works (think Brahms or Sibelius), it's really tiring to stand up on stage and play for a good 40 minutes without breaking concentration. More expensive violins are generally lighter and have better projection. This, I suspect, is why quite a few people can write with pens like Varsities or Preppys; if money and quality were directly correlated that strongly, then Preppys would be tossed.

 

The difference between upper-scale and lower-scale, in good hands, is the difference of "excellent" and "good". I'm not sure about newbie hands, because there are no Strads for children. (For what it's worth, blind tests between a good, new violin and Strads have proven that the difference is nil in terms of quality. And I've heard a student play on Strad, and the said student was doing a great disservice to the instrument).

 

To me, buying the pen you'd be using for the rest of your life (the go-to pen, the pen you'd end up writing your novel with, e.t.c.) online is a bit like buying a Strad online (and yes, they do sell them online; I saw an e-mail backstage offering a Strad. Pictures attached). Yes, it's a Strad, and it's well made, but is it well made for you? Good pens are good pens, but I'm rather picky about the size and the width of the barrel, since I have very long, thin fingers (they look like hands of someone with Marfan Syndrome). If you are an "accumulator", you can get more varieties online and that's a good way to add to your accumulation, but my MB and my Lamy are my default pens, and they do see exponentially more use from me than my other ones. They fit my hand the best; that's why I selected them.

A bit off topic, but where are you seeing this sale? It's nearly impossible for someone to be randomly selling a real Stradivari online unless it's through a major, and I mean major auction or, a private exchange. I somehow doubt the Strad was a real one; more likely, it was a violin made in the same style or made as a copy of one. Unless said sale was from a major auction site like Tarisio, in that case, never mind this.

 

Anyways, that aside, I'd say the idea of cheapies being useable is somewhat untrue for violins. Yes, there are cheapies out there, but no, there are definitely some that simply unplayable. I.e. glued soundpost & bridge, shoddy strings, plywood construction (don't get me started, I've seen and tried to help enough little kids with what their parents call 'thrifty' deals ), etc. There are also times when the instrument can't keep up with the repertoire/player. The rest of the analogy is pretty true as for picking a violin to picking a pen; you have to actually use them to see what they're like before buying them. Admittedly, the trial period is a lot longer . There's also whole bunch more behind why violins also cost more as they get better, a lot more than just weight and projection.

 

As for the on-stage analogy...I think this: any half-decent player should be able to improvise using a different violin for at least 40 minutes, in my opinion. I personally use a violin that's definitely on the small side, despite the fact I'm nearly 6' tall.

If anyone's wondering, I uses an old German violin, going on ~125 years now, but sounds just as good as the last violin I used, which was made by Masa Inokuchi over in Toronto. Comparing sizes, the Inokuchi violin had a 357mm back, while my current one is...354, I believe. Maybe 353mm. It's also shorter in terms of height than the Inokuchi. The ironic part: I prefer a big fountain pen over a small one. Anyways, anyone who wants to talk violin, PM instead.

 

/end spheal about violins.

 

On-Topic part of post: Well, to be fair, a lot of us, especially with invested collections, typically don't need the instructions...

[GabrielleDuVent]

This post allows me to comment on some important aspects of pens and nibs. I do not, in any way, intend these comments to belittle GabrielleDuVent.

 

 

I understand this idea...testing before one buys. However, the analogy to buying a musical instrument is only half-right. If one is buying a brass instrument, for example, there is little that can be done to make a less-than-stellar instrument perform correctly. I say this having been an accomplished trumpet player and having studied trumpet with William Vacchiano (among others) who was the principal trumpet player of the New York Philharmonic from 1938-1973.

 

Nibs, on the other hand, are a different story. Nibs can and should be tuned. There is a reason that every pen that is sold by Richard Binder, John Mottishaw, Mike & Linda Kennedy (at Indy-Pen-Dance), and me, someday, are tuned.

 

Many workers at many pen shops simply have no clue when it comes to fountain pens. They do not use them, they do not demonstrate them properly, and they are, frankly, incompetent to sell fountain pens. There are, for sure, notable exceptions, but in my experience, the exceptions are exceptionally rare.

 

 

All these questions depend greatly on knowing your own preferences--and, as the OP might allude to, very few know what they will or won't like.

 

Most nibs are not good out of the box. As much as I love Pelikan pens, their nibs, for the most part, all have to be tinkered with before the pen will write smoothly.

 

In fact, I've heard one prominent nib-guy muse about the "old days" where even drug stores might employ someone to tune the nibs on the pens they were selling.

 

It isn't feasible for the companies who make the pens to tune each nib. It is, however, possible for the retailers to tune the nibs before the pens are delivered to the customers. But, most stores don't know what is possible with a nib, most stores, frankly, don't care if your pen is scratchy or has a starting/skipping issue, and they are not likely to change because there is no money in it for them, or so they might think.

 

Ideally, every new pen that is sold should be tuned properly--like Binder, Mottishaw, and Kennedy do. For these retailers, that's part of the price of a new pen, and one doesn't really pay that much more for buying a tuned pen from them.

 

Also, there are people, such as myself and Linda Kennedy, who have set out to learn the art of nib tuning (and nib grinding) from reputable and well-known nib-guys because we see a need--properly writing pens.

 

I remember my first "Binderized" pen. I had NO idea that writing with a fountain pen could be that good. I just assumed the scratchiness, the hard-starting, and the skipping were things that one had to put up with if he or she wanted to write with a fountain pen.

 

Sadly, many people don't know any better. They don't know what a fountain pen can be like. They like the idea of the fountain pen and accept the poor writing out of ignorance. Like CS Lewis said, "We are far too easily pleased." [1] We are "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is mean by the offer of a holiday at the sea." [2]

 

It would be better, if those who sold pens learned to tune them properly or employed those who know how to tune them properly. I believe the industry would grow if that were the case. Most companies, however, only think short-term. A long-term idea would see the value in such a thing. But, that's not the world in which we seem to live.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

 

 

[1] http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/702-it-would-seem-that-our-lord-finds-our-desires-not

 

[2] Ibid.

 

That is where I'm completely ignorant with, as I am a string player. Strings are more easily replaced than nibs, bows are rehaired, pegs replaced, bridges re-inserted, chin rest changed, tailpiece exchanged... which are like nibs for me. The actual body, however, with the sound post, is the barrel of the pen. Well nigh irreplaceable. If it's broken, better spend beaucoup bucks to fix it, or pray to St Jude. Therefore, most violinists end up with one or two violins that they use as their main for their entire lives (there are people like Paganini who had about five Strads, but he's an oddball), with one luthier shop they always take the violin to (and one bow luthier, which is usually manned by two people at most... a master and an apprentice. Very middle ages). Mine is in Chicago, and if my violin decides that the French weather is too awful for its delicate health and decides to get ill, I'd have to fly back to get it readjusted. I don't trust anyone else.

 

Nib grinding, similarly, is like violin-repair for me. I don't do repairs. I'm a player. I play it, I don't mess with sound posts, and if it falls over, I take it to a trusted luthier. I also leave nib grinding to the professionals, because I find that even a slightest change is noticeable when I write (one of the reasons I don't really buy vintage pens). A millimetre dislocation of a sound post can change the tone of a violin from a sonorous bird to a very drunk hobo, and I figure that nib-grinding is the same.

 

I generally write an entire page with a pen before deciding if it's a dud. Usually, by mid-page, the writing is either smooth or scratchy. I only use EF nibs, so I've no idea what a scratchy M nib feels like.

 

Keep in mind that I come from a family in which the engagement and birthdays were celebrated not with rings and cars but with fountain pens. I grew up knowing what it was and what to do with it, just as I knew not to touch others' instruments (my mother plays the piano, my father guitar, and I play the violin, and we don't touch each other's instruments). So what may come as common sense to me would not be common sense to others.

 

I also find that despite being able to tweak nibs, it's not quite the same as getting the sound post re-adjusted. With sound posts (or at least, in my experience... I've knocked it over once or twice, and have gotten it readjusted a few times depending on the upcoming repertoire), you stand in while your luthier adjusts it, so you can make requests like "make the sound brighter" or "deeper on the G, please". A few of my teachers stood in with me when they could, out of their rather busy schedules. I don't think you can do that with nibs, so I don't expect a nib grinder to be able to meet my "please make the writing smooth when I do hane strokes" request if he doesn't write Chinese or Japanese.

 

Pens are more widely used by people, and therefore modernisation is far ahead of musical instruments. Violins and pianos, though, are still tuned personally, with the owners requesting adjustments (I mean, my most recent music isn't even type-setted. It's a facsimile from 1700s). I suppose I'm too used to that kind of system.

[GabrielleDuVent]

A bit off topic, but where are you seeing this sale? It's nearly impossible for someone to be randomly selling a real Stradivari online unless it's through a major, and I mean major auction or, a private exchange. I somehow doubt the Strad was a real one; more likely, it was a violin made in the same style or made as a copy of one. Unless said sale was from a major auction site like Tarisio, in that case, never mind this.

 

Anyways, that aside, I'd say the idea of cheapies being useable is somewhat untrue for violins. Yes, there are cheapies out there, but no, there are definitely some that simply unplayable. I.e. glued soundpost & bridge, shoddy strings, plywood construction (don't get me started, I've seen and tried to help enough little kids with what their parents call 'thrifty' deals ), etc. There are also times when the instrument can't keep up with the repertoire/player. The rest of the analogy is pretty true as for picking a violin to picking a pen; you have to actually use them to see what they're like before buying them. Admittedly, the trial period is a lot longer . There's also whole bunch more behind why violins also cost more as they get better, a lot more than just weight and projection.

 

As for the on-stage analogy...I think this: any half-decent player should be able to improvise using a different violin for at least 40 minutes, in my opinion. I personally use a violin that's definitely on the small side, despite the fact I'm nearly 6' tall.

If anyone's wondering, I uses an old German violin, going on ~125 years now, but sounds just as good as the last violin I used, which was made by Masa Inokuchi over in Toronto. Comparing sizes, the Inokuchi violin had a 357mm back, while my current one is...354, I believe. Maybe 353mm. It's also shorter in terms of height than the Inokuchi. The ironic part: I prefer a big fountain pen over a small one. Anyways, anyone who wants to talk violin, PM instead.

 

/end spheal about violins.

 

On-Topic part of post: Well, to be fair, a lot of us, especially with invested collections, typically don't need the instructions...

 

The Strad I saw was in the backstage of Chicago Symphony Center, when I was visiting the backstage to say hello to my sister student (same teacher, she's a violist, gave me a few instructions back when I was a pre-teen). It was tacked up on the message board, along with things like "whose keys are these?".

 

I actually use a custom-made Inokuchi violin, and a very cheap one from Suzuki made in the 70s (about $500 back then, it's my mother's hand-me-down). To be honest, I've never seen an unplayable violin, including the $60 ones from China. I currently teach in a music seminar in Paris as an assistant instructor to my teacher (former instructor at Conservatoire and a former member of Orchestre de Paris), and she picked up one plywood violin one day to the students to demonstrate that it's the violinist who makes the sound, not the violin.

 

The point was made.

 

My point about 40 minute performance was not about borrowing others' violins, it was playing for 40 minutes with a very cheap violin that requires double effort to project sound. I actually played Tchaikovsky with a student orchestra and my E string snapped mid-1st movement, right before the cadenza. I had to borrow a violin because I couldn't re-string it. It was a heavy one, and the muscle fatigue was far more than what I was used to, because I had to work harder to project the sound in the hall. If it was Brahms concerto, I may have called it quits (insert obvious reason here). Similarly, I don't expect a novelist to write without fatigue for 10 hours with a cheap Bic FP.

 

And 40 minutes on stage is a HELL of a long time. That's why solo recitals have intermissions and concerts with soloists usually have one concerto and the rest are symphonies.

[Ghost Plane]

My tiny village of one million people recently lost the last bricks and mortar shop when they turned their focus exclusively to cigars. The next closest shop is 4 hours away. Fortunately I discovered the excellent on line sellers.

 

Until I found FPN, I never knew other nib sizes existed. Now IB and OBB are my standards. Go figure.

 

My problem with pen sellers is their failure, on the whole, to bother advertising what options are available. Conway Stewart is great for listing all the nib sizes available. MB will grudgingly provide the information. But try learning who offers stubs on which pen Or even a simple B nib.

 

If you're going to produce a product, it seems you'd want to advise the consumer that it's available.

[Ernst Bitterman]

 

I've never actually seen a major city without at least one pen shop, and I've lived on three continents. I suppose there might be major cities without one pen shop, but I've just never been in one. I currently reside in Chicago - certainly not the epitome of sophistication in writing instruments, and certainly not New York - but I know at least three or four fountain pen dealers, plus Mont Blanc boutiques and Levengers. Are they getting as rare as shoe repairs?

 

 

Major cities are crammed with fascinating things, but there are a quantity of people who find themselves in minor cities. My own hometown, provincial capital and residence of roughly 200,000 people has a shop which stocks (as as a bit of an adjunct to their focus on paper) Lamy, Faber-Castell, Diplomat and (perhaps no longer) Waterman, although they tend not to carry the upper end of any company's output. If one is anxious to try another brand, one may drive for about eight hours to a neighbouring provincial capital four times the size, which has an actual dedicated pen shop. To me, a Sheaffer Taranis is an exotic import, and my experience of Mont Blancs is much the same as it is of sasquatch-- I've seen pictures, and a lot of people say they're real.

 

On the other hand, I know of two shoe repair shops in the city. Everyone's got feet, I guess, while the ability to write needs to be acquired.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Ernst Bitterman

[sumgaikid]

I don't know about other countries,but here in the US the fountain pen

isn't the king of communication that it once was. There are other quicker

modes of communication--namely cellphones and e-mail--that get the com-

municator a quicker response than waiting around for a letter. Memos? We

can text quicker than writing one. As a matter of fact,having a personal

style of handwriting has gone the way of the carrier pigeron--they still may

be used,but by fewer and fewer people.

 

 

 

John

[WaskiSquirrel]

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you've never tried living in rural North Dakota. I have to buy a lot of things online or else travel obscene distances.

[Harlequin]

I am perturbed (but not really surprised) by not only the number, but also the vehemence, of replies here that I would qualify as elitist, snobbish, and exuding an overall "it's better that FPs are difficult, expensive and time consuming, b/c they shouldn't be accessible to regular people!" vibe.

[Mike_Dowling]

Fountain pens are a niche and always will be, there is nothing the fountain pen makers can do to make them mainstream, that's why they also sell ballpoints.

[wastelanded]

Modern society is so oriented to instant gratification and effortlessness (or laziness, depending on who you ask) that it's simply too much work for most people to use a fountain pen. Hell, these days writing itself is too much effort for a lot of people, no matter what writing instrument is used.

 

I love when I've written a letter to someone and they're astonished, then pleased, by it. Makes me feel splendid in my ecentricity/Luddism/oldness.

[GabrielleDuVent]

I am perturbed (but not really surprised) by not only the number, but also the vehemence, of replies here that I would qualify as elitist, snobbish, and exuding an overall "it's better that FPs are difficult, expensive and time consuming, b/c they shouldn't be accessible to regular people!" vibe.

 

I don't think anyone here's being elitist and snobbish, but I'm one of the people who had never found FPs to be difficult. If an 8 year old can figure it out without extensive instructions (load the cartridge; screw the barrel back on; make sure the nib is facing upwards; write), then surely a twenty-something year old can do it with a piece of paper instructions.

 

And FPs ARE time-consuming compared to cheap ballpoints. Once the ink runs out of ballpoint, that's it with the ballpoint, so bin it and pull another out of the packet. With FP, you have the entire re-loading ordeal to go through.

 

FPs are luxury items, which are defined partly as "adding to pleasure and comfort but not absolutely necessary". To some it is an absolute necessity, but to most, not really. From that train of thought, one can draw the parallel between saying "make easy-to-understand instructions enclosed with every FP and personalise nibs by getting them adjusted every time you buy one!" and "make an easy-to-understand instructions enclosed with every bells-and-whistle espresso machine and include blanks, bottomless, and triple baskets". Espresso machine manufacturers will never do that, and neither will the pen manufacturers.

[N2theBreach]

As I was driving home tonight, I was thinking that maybe my OP could have been written in a more positive way. Instead of focusing on faults or lack of service, I could have asked, "What could the fountain pen industry do even better?" Ah well.

 

I agree with Gabrielle that it's much better to buy a pen where you can take it for a test drive. No question. I also agree with a half dozen, or so, posters that a lot of us don't live near enough to major cities to make that feasible. .

 

As others have accurately guessed, I see the needs that I identified as necessary for someone who might enjoy the benefits of writing with FPs, but will never become enamored with them. The casual user.

 

I'd like for that person to get the pleasure the rest of us do.

 

My post was prompted from my own experience. I bought my first pen, a Lamy Safari, from a B&M store. The sales clerk didn't even own a pen herself, never had. She could not advise me at all. I settled on the Lamy. Needless to say, she didn't do a thing to show me how to "use" it. I took it to class next day but couldn't take notes because it had flow problems. I returned it that night and talked to a new clerk, a pen addict. He's probably on this board somewhere. He couldn't fix it, so he replaced it. Same store, two different clerks. One knowledgeable, the other not.

 

My second pen is a Conklin Crescent filler. I bought it from a different B&M shop. The guy that sold it to me is very knowledgeable. I used it a bit, and it would not write consistently. I returned it. The guy who waited on me the second time is a hobbyist (I think), who works there part time. He said I probably kinked the nib, nothing to do but have their repairman look at it. Probably have to send it back to Conklin. How long would I be without it? No telling. How much will it cost? No telling. I passed on that option, did some searching on FPN and read that I should flush it with soap and water. Duh! I'd seen that before but forgot about it.

 

It's worked fine ever since, except for a slow start sometimes with certain inks, but Conklins are like that, you know. A few drops of dish washing liquid instead of an unecessary repair bill.

 

Now, I'm fairly technical. I'm the kind of guy that other people in the office come to when the need help with mechanical things..."Can you figure out how to get this drawer out? Some paper fell behind it."

 

I know a lot of people who might have enjoyed writing with an FP but would have walked away in my situation. And, most likely have told others who might be interested that FPs are miserable. They also aren't the sort to join FPN, so they wouldn't have access to the knowledge available here.

 

I would like for anyone to be able to enjoy writing with FPs, if they want to. Don't change the pens, just help them through that initial (small) learning curve.

 

Why, it might bring handwriting back because writing is more enjoyable. And then people might start writing letters again, just so they can write with their pens. And then everyone would be much happier because they're more connected. And peace and joy would be everywhere. All because the barriers to using a fountain pen have been lowered

 

Well, OK, it may not bring peace and prosperity to the land, but it might bring pleasure to few more people, and thus, keep the industry alive.

Edited June 8, 2013 by N2theBreach

[Daisy25]

About fifteen years ago, I was interested in fountain pens. I do a lot of writing and I liked the idea of fountain pens. But I didn't know anything about them other than to replace a cartridge. I saw the little press converter that came with my Sheaffer but it looked a little scary to me. I avoided it. I didn't have much money either so my pens were inexpensive: a Lamy Safari, a Sensa, a few Sheaffers, perhaps a Parker or two. I really wanted the fountains pens to work for me.

 

They didn't. I had leak problems. I had scratching and skipping. I may have known how to change a cartridge and how to hold a pen, but there is just so much more involved. I finally packed them up and put them in a closet -- where just last summer in a closet declutter I took the lot of them (except for one Sheaffer Prelude) to the Goodwill. (Head banging on desk here).

 

Then, this last winter, I once again got entranced by the fountain pen mystique. I pulled out my old Prelude and loved writing with it. Now I'm building my own little collection again (hey, a "51" with my name on it is headed my way as I type). But here's the difference between when I tried before and failed and now when it's just pure love: information.

 

It's the Fountain Pen Network. It's businesses like Goulet Pens who are not only selling the products but providing tons of information to make wise buying online so much easier.

 

So, I guess my point is, information matters. Readily accessible and informative on the whole spectrum of information you need: that ink brands vary in wetness, that nibs can be adjusted or replaced, that there are certain papers and notebooks that are better with fountain pens.

 

I don't know if fountain pen manufacturers need to do this, but there might be a lot of potential fountain pen users that more extensive websites, if nothing else, could help cultivate.

[GabrielleDuVent]

About fifteen years ago, I was interested in fountain pens. I do a lot of writing and I liked the idea of fountain pens. But I didn't know anything about them other than to replace a cartridge. I saw the little press converter that came with my Sheaffer but it looked a little scary to me. I avoided it. I didn't have much money either so my pens were inexpensive: a Lamy Safari, a Sensa, a few Sheaffers, perhaps a Parker or two. I really wanted the fountains pens to work for me.

 

They didn't. I had leak problems. I had scratching and skipping. I may have known how to change a cartridge and how to hold a pen, but there is just so much more involved. I finally packed them up and put them in a closet -- where just last summer in a closet declutter I took the lot of them (except for one Sheaffer Prelude) to the Goodwill. (Head banging on desk here).

 

Then, this last winter, I once again got entranced by the fountain pen mystique. I pulled out my old Prelude and loved writing with it. Now I'm building my own little collection again (hey, a "51" with my name on it is headed my way as I type). But here's the difference between when I tried before and failed and now when it's just pure love: information.

 

It's the Fountain Pen Network. It's businesses like Goulet Pens who are not only selling the products but providing tons of information to make wise buying online so much easier.

 

So, I guess my point is, information matters. Readily accessible and informative on the whole spectrum of information you need: that ink brands vary in wetness, that nibs can be adjusted or replaced, that there are certain papers and notebooks that are better with fountain pens.

 

I don't know if fountain pen manufacturers need to do this, but there might be a lot of potential fountain pen users that more extensive websites, if nothing else, could help cultivate.

 

The information is rather readily available nowadays, from how to grind nibs (still terrified to do them) to how to mix your own ink. I'm all for making information available.

 

The idea was, however, to give the information, rather than making it available. There is a difference between saying that manufacturers should post up trouble-shooting tips on their websites, where the users would have to actively seek information, and saying that manufacturers should include in the package trouble-shooting tips with the equipment, where the user would be a more passive recipient of the said information.

 

If someone said, "hey, let's make an official FPN website, where the information is organised and compiled, with paper compatibilities, ink densities, trouble-shooting with nibs, converter information, e.t.c.", I am all for it. Heck, I'll even translate it into Japanese, since I'm bilingual. There are five, six threads from over the years asking which pens are compatible with moleskine, which paper is best, e.t.c. and I always find the same answers, and I think it'd be nice if one could just get that information in an organised manner from one page.

 

But I do wish and hope that an FP user would seek out that information, rather than asking that pen manufacturers would compile that info into a booklet and pack it with each and every pen. I think you learn more that way anyway, and if one can't bother to google a few words to find information in this day and age where even the details of the weirdest chemical reactions can be found with a few keys, then maybe one should stick with ballpoints.

 

If someone said, "look, I can't head out to the library to reserve FP book every time something goes wrong with my pen, I wish they'd pack a booklet with my pen" back in the 70s, I can understand; information was much more scarce then. But that won't work as readily now.