One Pen One Month Challenge

[sandy101]

 

 

sandy, just to clarify, we're not limited to one ink are we? or are we going full-monk, one pen, one ink, one frozen dinner with water for the whole month?

 

You can use as many inks as you like.

[bsenn]

I may try. Sheaffer imperial, fine conical nib, aurora black. Suitable for almost anything.

 

However, so I don't get bored I may pull out a bunch of drafting lead holders and 5 or 6 hardnesses of lead. I can put a pointer on my desk to keep them sharp (and amaze (?) my co-workers...)

 

Brian

[BillH]

 

You can use as many inks as you like.

 

 

Thank you.

[johnsi02]

Are we allowed to swap nibs? Like a Pelikan m150 that I have both fine and medium nibs for. Or an Esterbrook, or a Sonnet, etc.

JS

[pajaro]

Are we allowed to swap nibs? Like a Pelikan m150 that I have both fine and medium nibs for. Or an Esterbrook, or a Sonnet, etc.

JS

I wonder if this makes each model into several pens. Why not change barrels and caps too? I have twenty-five Sonnets, plus nibs; several Pelikans plus nibs . . . Pretty soon one pen for a month gets corrupted. I have a Parker 51 with several spare sections, medium, then fine, stub and extra fine, like having several pens, but I'll soldier on with the fine.

[sandy101]

Are we allowed to swap nibs? Like a Pelikan m150 that I have both fine and medium nibs for. Or an Esterbrook, or a Sonnet, etc.

JS

 

Yes. If a pen is designed to do something - such as use different inks, have its nib swapped and so on, then by all means use those features.

 

Part of the question is how, in the medium term, useful are these features of the pen.

 

You might find yourself deciding not to change the nib in week 3 because it is too troublesome, and if changing inks is a PIA then do you find yourself sticking with the same ink as the month progresses. The general idea is to try and get an idea of what it is like to live with one pen - and maybe get some kind of data over which features we value.

 

The general idea is to use try and use an FP as much as you can - as many of us talk about the one user one pen days before pens and writing machines became ubiquitous.

 

When looking at the items that came from my grandparent's time (1930's-50's) they had a pen (that's survived) a Parker Vaccumatic and some of their correspondence is written in pen, and much of the rest - day to day stuff - is actually written in pencil. Ink seems to have been reserved for formal occasions, and pencil used for more informal situations. They weren't rich. So, I'm setting a pen aside, a carry case and some pencils to see what happens.

 

It is not a strict trial - we don't want to lose our jobs over this - so if you need to use a black biro to sign documents at work, then carry on. If you have to use registrar's ink for a particular purpose, and it is impractical or impossible to use it elsewhere then carry on.

 

Of course, the main reason for trying this out is fun. You might choose the most expensive, cheapest, best or worst fountain pen in the box and find out something new through extended use. You might find that you can't live with the pen you chose after two weeks - and change in disgust. In which case, tell us about this - and why. Reading some of Philip Larkin's letters, he apologises to the reader because he is using a terrible nib - as it is the only pen he could find at his parents' or boarding house.

Edited April 30, 2017 by sandy101

[Noihvo]

 

[pajaro]

Still using my Parker 51. Leaving the others alone. This has not been so much a sacrifice as a realization that my old 51 is well run in and is wonderfully smooth. When you use a single pen for a few weeks after years of using each pen for a short bit only you see it differently.

[benbot517]

I'm going strong with a MB 149. It's been a great writer, though with it's large nib size (O3B) even though it's a piston filler it rips through ink. I've had to refill it a ton. Still though, I've found it exceedingly comfortable to use, and I don't think I'll have a problem with the rest of the month.

[pajaro]

I have been using my first Parker51 for a month, and I am continuing to use it. This first choice of a good pen I made in 1970 has proven to be a good one. I think I'll use it with my Montblanc 144s, and all the other pens become collectibles. This has been a good experience. This Parker 51 has shown itself to be the smoothest pen of the lot..

[benbot517]

The 149 has continued to perform, and though I do miss the diversity of my other nibs it's been a great pen to spend a month with

[Gloucesterman]

Wouldn't work for me. Journal writing almost every day has become a habit and I use a different color to mark each days entry. Although I might use the same ink off and on during a period of a week or so I can't imagine cleaning out the pen on a daily basis.

 

A while back I used a single dip pen for several weeks and simply cleaned it after each day's entry. I like my variety a lot and my moods change. Different nibs, different colors let me feel more expressive. Currently I have the following inked and in use:

• Esterbrook "J" w/ 9128 and Cross Black
• TWSBI 580 w/ Pendleton Stub and Asa Gao
• Sheaffer Taranis Fine, with Noodler Blue
• Platinum 3776 w/ an italic modified (from a music) nib w/ Pelikan tourquoise
• Platinum 3776 UEF nib with Sheaffer red ink.

 

And yes, I do spend a fair amount of time cleaning my pens!!!

[sandy101]

I have been using my first Parker51 for a month, and I am continuing to use it. This first choice of a good pen I made in 1970 has proven to be a good one. I think I'll use it with my Montblanc 144s, and all the other pens become collectibles. This has been a good experience. This Parker 51 has shown itself to be the smoothest pen of the lot..

 

Thank you for coming back and telling us about your experience. Is there anything you feel you learnt from using the Parker 51 for a month? It seems you gained a greater appreciation of the pen - do you think this will affect your choice of pens in the future?

 

Were there any problems with carrying a pen that can't be filled with a cartridge - did you have a filling strategy, or did it not matter so much?

[chromantic]

 

Thank you for coming back and telling us about your experience.

 

Wait, we can be doing this now? I thought we were doing it in August.

[sandy101]

It's up to you. I was going to start in August. Some folk said August was inconvenient and started earlier. There's no real hard and fast rule, but if you do try it, come back here and tell us what you've learnt - and if it doesn';t work for you - come back and tell us why not. Was it because the pen you chose was too frustrating to work with for a whole month or was it something else?

 

I suggested August so that folk can time their refills accordingly. I'm running my piston fillers down to empty and not refilling them, so they don't spend August being unused full of ink.

 

If folk started earlier, then why not? Maybe we could learn something that will affect our choice of pen for August.

[chromantic]

Well, that makes sense. I can break it into two parts, the pre-test stuff - choosing which pen/ink combo , why I chose it, the boundaries I set for myself, etc - and then the results. Thanks, sandy101.

[pajaro]

 

Thank you for coming back and telling us about your experience. Is there anything you feel you learnt from using the Parker 51 for a month? It seems you gained a greater appreciation of the pen - do you think this will affect your choice of pens in the future?

 

Were there any problems with carrying a pen that can't be filled with a cartridge - did you have a filling strategy, or did it not matter so much?

 

I was distracted by all the pens I tried after joining FPN. Using this 51 constantly showed how much better a pen it is than almost every other pen I have had. I'm not sure I will buy any more pens.

 

I don't carry the pen any more, because I am retired. I think I filled it once a week in the last month, and this 51 is a wet writer.

[sharonspens]

I think I am going to start this for June, using a Pilot Custom 92 with a Binderized ItaliFine nib (writes italic on one side and fine on the other). The ink will be Iroshizuku Asa-Gao. I already have a pen/ink combo that I decided to use for the year - Platinum 3776 Yamanaka, F nib, with Iroshizuku Fugu-Gaki. However, if I am only using one FP for the month, I'd rather have a darker ink that can work a little better in business situations if necessary . I usually keep several pens inked, with different colors of ink, so I often have one playful color and one more serious color when needed.

 

This will also be a test of the 3776 "slip n' seal" mechanism, since I won't be emptying that pen this month. We will see if it writes in July!

 

Sharon in Indiana

[perfaddict]

Hmmmm... I like this challenge, daunting as it sounds. I will opt in with the Lamy 2000 i am using at the moment and see how long i last

[sandy101]

Excellent. I'm tempted to go for my MB146, but part of me is thinking to use one of my "middle of the road pens" such as a Parker Sonnet - or something to see how practical the "mid-price" pens are.