What Is Your Absolute Joy About This Passion?

[fountainpenlady]

It's one of the rare products you can use these days where craftmanship still matter.

 

There aren't many things that are handmade these days where the skill of the builder makes a definitive impact on the experience of using the product.

 

I like the excess it represents, how ridiculous it is to use an expensive fountain pen when a simple pen does the job almost as well. A fountain pen is NEVER objectively worth the price. It's a passion product, and for me it's nice to stop being so objective once in a while.

I agree. Sometimes, when the conversation extends, people are surprised to know how expensive fountain pens can get. Yet, they are intellectually floored when I share with them how expensive they can really get. I share with someone the most expensive fountain pen and I feel like I need to leave them or they will palpitate and I won't know what to do with them.

 

Diamante contains over 30 carats of diamonds and its creators, Aurora, aren’t shy about telling you it’s the only pen in the world to have so many. That's why they only make one per year.

The asking price for the most expensive pen in the world is not available to the public, but is suspected to be around US $1.28 million. The purchaser may have the Diamante personalized with their coat of arms, signature or portrait.

 

Montblanc, a fountain pen and luxury goods manufacturer, and Van Cleef & Arpels, a jewelry house, are the creators of the former most expensive pen, a writing instrument known as the Mystery Masterpiece.The unique work took over a year and a half to create by skilled artisans and if you hurry you can have your choice of three variations, set with 20 carats of sapphires, emeralds, or rubies, and accented by almost 840 diamonds. The three versions of the expensive pens were limited to three releases each and each of the nine pens sold for $730,000.

[blINK]

the moment when its touch the paper and inks flows out, shining its wetness than dry on the paper. The effortless writing as the nib glides on the paper. Oh beauty!

These are a few of my favorite things. . .

[PS104]

In this digital world (and I am under no illusion that FPN and all the other sites and computers themselves would not exist without the digital revolution) it is comforting to know that there is a medium that is not digital. The combination of the pen (nib), ink and paper can produce a more or less unexpected result that has all the earmarks of a work of art (no matter how good or bad our handwriting is). Every time you write something with a pen it is an original and cannot be duplicated. Even something as mundane as writing a check is a wonderment to me as each one is different. I love my pens (even the no-name ones) and inks as each has its own characteristics and I adapt to it.

I acknowledge that BPs, RBs, etc can also produce individual results but nothing like the variations that FPs can produce.

[LuckyKate]

• The sense of privacy and the reverie inspired by a good pen, a sanctuary for daydreams, a refuge for silliness, a beautiful goofiness.

My first pen show--the DC pen show: the tables loaded with pens, the vibrant little pen sleeves knitted by someone's mother, the lacquered boxes of pen holders, the ink testing tables, the classic fountain pen nib table, the cups full of multicolored esterbrooks, the wealth of delightful, passionate people, all sparkling and glittering. Ahhh. . .

Writing in bed in the morning with a favorite pen in one hand, coffee on the table next to me!

my students' smiles when they see the bright red fountain pen I grade with

[haruka337]

It's the process I love: Flushing the pen, culling an ink, loading it up and taking pen to paper. How divine!

[Newjelan]

The moment when I pull/screw off the cap and the beautiful nib shines up in the light, than the moment when its touch the paper and inks flows out, shining its wetness than dry on the paper. The effortless writing as the nib glides on the paper. Oh beauty!

Yep!

 

Watching ink dry is fascinating. Watching grass grow is mind numbing.

[xwingrox]

The subtle feedback from a well tuned M205 steel nib (!) on my Pelikan M605 (!!!) as it touches Tomoe River Paper. Yup, I use a steel m205 nib over gold m600's because the steel has... texture... and doesn't feel mushy like the gold M600 nibs.

 

And I put up with a ton of stuff, ranging to making my own notebooks with Tomoe River Paper to making a portable ink filling station from a 1oz Nalgene - just to feel this subtle feedback when I write.

 

Weird, huh?

[Inkydinkydog]

Three things come to mind. Without ranking them they are:

1. The way stub nibs make my ordinary handwriting look more appealing.

2. The wide variety of inks.

3. The wide selection of nibs.

[The Blue Knight]

A nice thread, my compliments.

[fountainpenlady]

A nice thread, my compliments.

What amazes me is that we all come on Fountain Pen Network and people, including us perhaps would think we know why we all are here. Yet, as this thread has taken on a life, rhythm of its own with each person defining, articulating, expressing for him/herself what brings absolute joy, it is becoming this wonderful path, like beginning of the season we are about to embark upon after a particularly harsh winter. Posted here in the perfect place, where after Introduction, all who enter come this way to feast and hopefully offer their reasons. What a wonderful greeting from our seasoned or new selves as to why we are here. Very personal perspectives. I continue to read each response thoroughly and enjoying myself beyond mere words. Just imagine, it all started at my kitchen sink.

 

I have reluctantly decided to stop commenting, even when I am compelled to want to express my agreement, even if it is just an emoticon. I feel the poetry, see the images so vividly, sincerity and expression of each person. I am enjoying the responses, proud and glad to be part of this community. Now let me return to enjoying and being quiet (difficult for me as you can read from my response) and the wonderful expressions of joy in this passion we all share. Be Well

Edited March 18, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[ac12]

Writing a letter with my oblique pen holder and a good dip pen nib. The flexes look so nice.

Writing with a stub/CI nib pen. A runner up to my oblique pen holder.

 

Repairing an old broken pen and making it work again.

Even more so when it is a relatives pen, especially my mom's pen.

[kansaskyle]

As a newbie, I am finding joy in a lot of different aspects including:

• Ink! - In the past, the ink color was pretty much whatever pen I grabbed. Now I have several samples, and full bottles of blue, brown, green, black (2), and a few more on the way - turquoise, red, burgundy, and orange. It is fun picking different colors as my mood strikes me and seeing how they look on the page.
  
• Letters - I've written more letters in the last month that I have in probably the last 10 years. I really enjoy the process of planning who to write to next, and seeing the words form on the page.
  
• Looking for reasons/ways to write - I just ordered a Midori-style Traverler's Notebook and some inserts so I can incorporate writing more into my daily life. I've been working to improve my handwriting by practicing my characters, and I've also started to keep a journal to incorporate writing into my personal Bible study and memory work.
  
• Experimenting with pens and nibs - Fountain pens are like rabbits in they seem to keep multiplying! I started with a Pilot Varsity in January, and now I have several pens with a few more on the way. I'm staying on the low-end (for me) at the moment under the $145 mark/pen because that is all I can justify, but it is really fun experimenting with new and vintage pens. I've gone from Pilot VP fine nibs to Lamy 1.1 italic nibs, and I got a semi-flex Pelikan nib this week to try out.

[The Blue Knight]

What amazes me is that we all come on Fountain Pen Network and people, including us perhaps would think we know why we all are here. Yet, as this thread has taken on a life, rhythm of its own with each person defining, articulating, expressing for him/herself what brings absolute joy, it is becoming this wonderful path, like beginning of the season we are about to embark upon after a particularly harsh winter. Posted here in the perfect place, where after Introduction, all who enter come this way to feast and hopefully offer their reasons. What a wonderful greeting from our seasoned or new selves as to why we are here. Very personal perspectives. I continue to read each response thoroughly and enjoying myself beyond mere words. Just imagine, it all started at my kitchen sink.

 

I have reluctantly decided to stop commenting, even when I am compelled to want to express my agreement, even if it is just an emoticon. I feel the poetry, see the images so vividly, sincerity and expression of each person. I am enjoying the responses, proud and glad to be part of this community. Now let me return to enjoying and being quiet (difficult for me as you can read from my response) and the wonderful expressions of joy in this passion we all share. Be Well

 

That's the nice thing about FPN, it's nice to know there are other's who are people who enjoy fountain pens as much as I do. Consider most people I come across on a daily basis couldn't care less what they are using.

 

For me one thing I like is to rediscover pens I haven't used in a long time. I mean take today I put my fairly inexpensive pen a rotring Esprit into service I haven't used regularly in over a year and I was transported back to 3 months that it was in regular service. I'd forgotten how good a writer it was and really enjoyed using it today. In some ways I may be overly nostalgic but it's nice to rediscover a pen,

[pankaj]

Every time a pen gets filled in rotation, I forget its revisiting me may be the 100th time. It feels new : like what T S Eliot says

 

"The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time "

 

My absolute joy: fill it with a new ink and start...

[erpe]

There are three main things for me. First there is the possibility to take an pen and ink that matches my mood, and my mood jumps all over the place. That's why I have several pens inked up and ready to go. Secondly, a fountain pen reflects the current mood much better than any ballpoint ever could. Using the right pen balances the mood-swings. That leads to three, I feel a distinct difference between a tool (ballpoint) and an instrument (FP). Finally, when you take it out in public, it's a conversation starter

[Reevers]

Finally, through no pre planning, I have wonderfully just finished cleaning 5 of my 8 writing beauties. Getting them ready for the next fill. Next step is to decide which ink will fill each pen. JOY!

Two others were already waiting for the rest and have already been cleaned. There is only my Lamy still inked.

 

Literally, standing at my kitchen sink, transfer pipette between finger tips, sink stopper in place so nothing crucial from any pen drops down to the abyss. While blissfully I cleaned out remnant of residual ink from each pen, thought, "wonder what others consider their most wonderful aspect of enjoying pens, paper, ink, etc.?"

 

Having several, this one is one for me right now. The pleasure of the first alphabet letter written, once I have filled a favorite fountain pen with new ink; flow of the ink onto perfect paper; sound, feel when I open a new off white, unlined, quasi glossy, fountain pen friendly journal; sheer giddiness, when I open a brand new ink bottle.

Well, as you can read, these are ones off the edges of my hat brim.

 

What is your moment? What a way to begin, continue a new week, huh? Enjoy it and sharing your perfect blissful moment.

 

 

Thank you FountainPenLady for a great post!

 

I couldn't agree more with the excitement of a new ink. The anticipation of the tone of the colour, the question of will it shade dramatically or less so, the thought of how will it feel writing with my F vs EF or Western vs. Eastern nibs.

 

I am 12 months into my fountain pen journey and at the moment inks are really taking my focus, this might explain why I have 10 inks only 4 FPs... and all of the pens are demonstrators!

[Reevers]

Finally, through no pre planning, I have wonderfully just finished cleaning 5 of my 8 writing beauties. Getting them ready for the next fill. Next step is to decide which ink will fill each pen. JOY!

Two others were already waiting for the rest and have already been cleaned. There is only my Lamy still inked.

 

Literally, standing at my kitchen sink, transfer pipette between finger tips, sink stopper in place so nothing crucial from any pen drops down to the abyss. While blissfully I cleaned out remnant of residual ink from each pen, thought, "wonder what others consider their most wonderful aspect of enjoying pens, paper, ink, etc.?"

 

Having several, this one is one for me right now. The pleasure of the first alphabet letter written, once I have filled a favorite fountain pen with new ink; flow of the ink onto perfect paper; sound, feel when I open a new off white, unlined, quasi glossy, fountain pen friendly journal; sheer giddiness, when I open a brand new ink bottle.

Well, as you can read, these are ones off the edges of my hat brim.

 

What is your moment? What a way to begin, continue a new week, huh? Enjoy it and sharing your perfect blissful moment.

 

 

Thank you FountainPenLady for a great post!

 

I couldn't agree more with the excitement of a new ink. The anticipation of the tone of the colour, the question of will it shade dramatically or less so, the thought of how will it feel writing with my F vs EF or Western vs. Eastern nibs.

 

I am 12 months into my fountain pen journey and at the moment inks are really taking my focus, this might explain why I have 10 inks only 4 FPs... and all of the pens are demonstrators!

Edited March 19, 2015 by Reevers

[Moynihan]

The feeling of a Namiki/Pilot Falcon soft fine nib on Tomoe River Paper, and the sight of the resulting shapes in Noodlers 54th Mass. or rohrer & Klingner Verdigris...

[mmg122]

I do some of my best problem solving on Sunday nights as I clean, polish, and fill my rotation for the next weeks work. The whole ritual of fountain pen use is good for my soul.

[paulmi603]

I like the fact that fountain pens are keepers. They are not disposables like the cheap 50 cent ball points sold by Bic. I like the fact that there are many dozens of different ink colors and the fact that you can use different converters and cartridges. Not to mention the different paper/notebooks. Expensive pens give you the feeling of endless possibilities of what projects you can do with them. Your creativity sparkens. Your penmanship improves. New thoughts and ideas are ready for you to put down on paper.