Writing Samples?

[csfontenot]

I just opened an on-line store for vintage (pre-1960's) European fountain pens that have been repaired/restored. After posting the site on several forums sites (including this one) I received several messages regarding writing samples (which I previously had not included on the site, I have since uploaded a sample for each pen). I was curious as to why people find this important. I did an experiment with my wife and her parents where my wife and I each wrote a sentence with different pens and asked her parents to pair the samples to the pen. They were unable to do so, being as the writing samples were very different. I was just wondering if people found these useful or if they helped people determine what pen they going to buy? Thanks for any feedback and looking forward to your thoughts!

[Abner C. Kemp]

I just opened an on-line store for vintage (pre-1960's) European fountain pens that have been repaired/restored. After posting the site on several forums sites (including this one) I received several messages regarding writing samples (which I previously had not included on the site, I have since uploaded a sample for each pen). I was curious as to why people find this important. I did an experiment with my wife and her parents where my wife and I each wrote a sentence with different pens and asked her parents to pair the samples to the pen. They were unable to do so, being as the writing samples were very different. I was just wondering if people found these useful or if they helped people determine what pen they going to buy? Thanks for any feedback and looking forward to your thoughts!

 

Writing samples offer a general idea of the pens flow, flex, exc. While writing samples do vary they can be compared to other writing samples (done by the same person) to see how pens differ. The best example of this is on the Goulet's site. Brian writes all of the samples so different pen/nibs can be easily compared before purchasing.

[UDog]

Off topic, but I visited your website, and I bookmarked it. It looks great and good luck.

[inkstainedruth]

+1 on what Abner said.

I have bought most of my vintage pens on Ebay, and I particularly like the listings with writing samples is that I know that the pen has got a good shot of being in working condition, and that the nib is in good shape. I also like to know if the nib has flex or is something a little out of the ordinary (especially since the bulk of the pens I own -- both new and vintage -- have nibs that are Fs and Ms).

Good luck in your new venture.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited January 21, 2014 by inkstainedruth

[BookCat]

I prefer to watch videos of the pen being used. This gives me a more visceral sense of how the pen writes, sounds, if the nib scratches, if it's wet or dry, flexy or a nail etc. So any model I'm interested gets hunted up on youtube for a review so I can see it being used. After that, I'll decide. Although there are some youtube channels dealing with vintage pens, different pens in the same model could vary greatly depending on how former users have treated them.

 

Some kind of writing sample is essential imho.