One Pen One Month Challenge

[ralfstc]

With continuing drying issues with the Onoto, I finally had to enlarge (ever so slightly) the channels in the feed with an exacto knife. Now it works like a champ! And still behaves well.

 

I said it was a 1330, it's a 1332. Which according to Steve's book was made 1932 onwards, but should be a De La Rue and not an Onoto. So I have a rareish 85 year old pen providing sterling everyday service.

 

Without the one month one pen challenge I'd probably have given up on the pen as a hard starter and cleaned it out and let it languish instead of actually getting my sleeves rolled up and fixing the problem. There's a lesson there.

 

My Massdrop Lamy 2K arrived today. Looks nice. Not tempted too much-- I've had a few 2000s in the past, but only one 1332! :-)

 

Ralf

[przeklasa]

I am having a similar experience as ralfstc. Because I haven't even touched my other pens (I do look longingly at them, though) the only recourse I have to satisfy my tinkering inclinations (obsession?) is to inspect the nib on my modified Jinhao 922 whenever I write on some paper scrap that results in an increase in feedback from my skinny nib. So I break out my 12000 micromesh, 0.05 and 0.02 fiber optic films and 20x loupe and very, very lightly give the nib a short swipe to smooth/polish any microscopic imperfection that I might see. I am doing this about every other day.

 

Under normal/ordinary circumstances whenever I work on a brand new pen, I tinker with the nib off and on for three or four days and when the nib "feels right" to me, I call it good. BUT...these are abnormal/extraordinary circumstances and I am reevaluating this pen daily, even hourly. As a result, I've improved the feel of this pen to a level that surprises me. On August 1, this pen felt great on good paper, felt fine on lesser paper and felt acceptable on horrible paper. Now this pen feels great on good paper, feels very, very nice on lesser paper and feels not bad at all on horrible paper. My nib smoothing/polishing technique has definitely improved.

 

This is a great experiment, this one pen, one month challenge!

[chromantic]

After panicking that my carts weren't going to last the month and ordering another pack, I remembered that I'm going to be off work the whole last week in August.

[sandy101]

After 15 days, I'm finding the weight of the MB to be less of a problem than before - I've gotten used to it. It was something I was concerned about, but using the pen everyday seems to have somehow resolved this issue. What I'm missing most is not other pens, but other inks.

 

This is making me think about attitudes towards pens.

 

A lot of us here spend a considerable amount of time trying to find the right pen - and we measure this by thinking about the pens we already have, and what qualities they have, or don't have. Based upon this experiment so far - the pen you already have may be the ideal pen - you just need to invest some time with it and your initial impressions through the first few days of use will change after a couple of weeks.

 

Of course, there are many reasons for owning more than one pen and I don't want to discourage anyone from keeping their collections going, but if your main objective is to have something that writes well, then perhaps it is more important to invest time in the pens you have to develop a better relationship with them, rather than buy more hoping to find "the one" that will make up for the perceived deficiencies of the ones you have already bought. Some of these "deficiencies" will iron themselves out through extended use.

 

It might be good advice for newbies. Buy one (decent) pen and use it for a month or so before you buy anything else. You might find that one pen is all you need.

[ralfstc]

I think you may well be right, Sandy101. This experience has certainly got me thinking about what I could do without. I'm not a collector (yeah, right, of course I am on one level) and I like my pens to be usable and comfortable. I have a few historical pens and a very few modern ones. Is my urge for multiple pens really a fascination with fountain pens and the variety of experiences they represent, or simply my personal manifestation of our accumulative times? I don't know.

 

I think theories about totemistic objects are very interesting; the idea that objects have symbolic meaning far beyond their material form. I definitely feel that about pens. For example, I have a 1960s P51 I picked up in the UK this summer, medium broad nib in a polkadot box, and a great engraving about 20 years of service to United Dairies. Is the enjoyment I get from that pen from the historical niche, the connection with a trip to see my mum, or from the actual function of the object itself. Or, or course, all three?

 

By using one pen for a month, are we investing them with totemic significance? Or, more likely, just working out how to work with the pen? :-)

 

Sorry for the dense post-dentist musings. I blame the x-rays!

 

R.

[ralfstc]

And oh yes, buy one pen and use it for month is terrific advice!

[sandy101]

I'm not trying to knock pen collecting, and of course pens can make wonderful souvenirs as much as key rings or photographs.

 

I buy pens to write with, and also have some vintage ones I bought and some modern ones. I didn't set out to start a pen collection, but seem to have bought a range in a quest to find the most comfortable pen to write with. However, this month has got me thinking that a pen can become more useable and more comfortable if you spend more time using it. As you said, you learn about the limitations - or work out how to overcome them through time.

 

However, this might explain how people feel that the classic pens are better writers than the pens of today. It's not the design of the pen, but the fact that pens being rather pricey meant that people invested time in them and got the best out of their pen through constant use. I've got a P51, and I've struggled to see the attraction - it doesn't feel as comfortable as other pens in the collection. I thought it might be because I'm left-handed. However, I'm going to give it a month and see if I get a similar experience to the one I've had with the MB.

 

With a collection of 5+ pens, the heavy pen, or the slim pen will always be too heavy, or too slim because it only gets used once or twice a week and is always compared to the other pens in the collection. If you continually use the pens, then your grip changes as you become more accustomed to it and the writing experience improves. This is what I'm thinking after 16 days.

[pajaro]

After 15 days, I'm finding the weight of the MB to be less of a problem than before - I've gotten used to it. It was something I was concerned about, but using the pen everyday seems to have somehow resolved this issue. What I'm missing most is not other pens, but other inks.

 

This is making me think about attitudes towards pens.

 

A lot of us here spend a considerable amount of time trying to find the right pen - and we measure this by thinking about the pens we already have, and what qualities they have, or don't have. Based upon this experiment so far - the pen you already have may be the ideal pen - you just need to invest some time with it and your initial impressions through the first few days of use will change after a couple of weeks.

 

Of course, there are many reasons for owning more than one pen and I don't want to discourage anyone from keeping their collections going, but if your main objective is to have something that writes well, then perhaps it is more important to invest time in the pens you have to develop a better relationship with them, rather than buy more hoping to find "the one" that will make up for the perceived deficiencies of the ones you have already bought. Some of these "deficiencies" will iron themselves out through extended use.

 

It might be good advice for newbies. Buy one (decent) pen and use it for a month or so before you buy anything else. You might find that one pen is all you need.

Superb advice. I have a lot of pens, and almost any of them could be satisfactory as an only pen. I would just have to use it for long enough, instead of flitting to another pen in a few minutes.

Edited August 17, 2017 by pajaro

[Laefar]

So, things are going well so far. I actually had to switch to a dryer ink in order to use the pen on a daily basis, so now my Wing Sung 968 inked with Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. I also gave the nib some treatment, so now it's one of the smoothest nibs I have.

My main problems with using only one pen, is that I'm used to have a pen on me at all times in my shirt pocket, but being a larger pen it's not really comfortable to carry this way and it doesn't fit all shirts, but for full day of study in college having a piston filler with a lot of ink is really great - I used to carry a backup pen at all times, now one fill gets me through couple of days like this and I still have some.

[chromantic]

The second cartridge of Skrip Turquoise ran out towards the end of my shift tonight but I had an extra in my bag and this coming night is my last for the rest of the month - my vacation starts Wednesday - so 3 carts would have just covered me for the month, I think.

[sandy101]

Refilled the MB with JFK yesterday - I got bored with black. The last fill went for 2 1/2 weeks of moderate use, which is pretty good.

[BillH]

I will probably drop out today sometime and go back to my usual "many pens inked". I have learned quite a bit over the past 3 weeks/3 fills. The Pelikan M400 is a superb pen and if you were looking for a single pen it might be the one for you. But I found it just a touch small for my "only pen". I also found the paper my checks are printed on is too cheap for a Pelikan M. Flipped over it was ok, or should I say, passable? But why? I have better pens and nibs for writing the monthly checks.

 

And that is the main answer, for me. Not only do I love writing with a fountain pen (and drawing too), I just LOVE fountain pens, in all of their variety. And ink. I like many different inks, available all the time, without having to flush and refill.

 

So the MB 146 B will come back out later today and be filled with Velvet Red. The bullet ended blue school pen will get a cart filled with Peacock Blue and put back in service. The EF Safari will be reloaded with Lexington Grey and the sketchbook will come back out. And the IB nib will replace the M on this little 400 and I'll finish off the load of blue-black writing some letters with a bit more interesting line.

 

Best to all of you soldiering on, and may you learn as much about your own pen (and self) as I did

[ralfstc]

[/img:https://i.imgur.com/ngMjYlh.jpg]

 

Hi folks,

 

18 days in (I started late), and two challenges survived. The first was travel. I've never done much flying with a lever-filler, so I emptied and refilled on arrival in Copenhagen. All worked fine, but I was wishing I'd chosen an Onoto plunger filler, since they have a sealing feature when you screw the back down, like an eyedropper.The second challenge was the lamy. Luckily! My partner lost her pen, and it turned out that she loved the Lamy, so that worked out well!Yesterday, we visited the Danish Design Museum. All that teak and mid-century modern. It made me want to wrestle the Lamy back. However my partner is way faster, stronger and sneakier than I am, so discretion proved the better part of cowardice, and the challenge continues!Pic above is the wee Onoto having its early morning coffee in Copenhagen (I can't get html working properly with my ipad, sorry)

 

R.

Edited August 23, 2017 by ralfstc

[ralfstc]

 

And so we go on! August 29th, 7 days to go (I finish September 4).

 

The wee pen has suffered from the rigours of travel, and has lost one of the cap rings :-( It's in a university somewhere in Denmark . . .

 

I have survived another challenge! In Copenhagen I visited a flea market and found . . . four pens! One lovely Lamy 27, a Pelikan 400, a Pelikan P1 and a P15. And I've started gently cleaning and fixing them up, but I haven't filled them and written with them. That's the criteria, right? Filling them and writing with them?

 

This is more complicated than I expected.

 

Meanwhile, the Onto just keeps on writing its heart out!

 

R.

[Lelouch]

I'm counting down the days until I can have two pens again. Not because I need them, but rather because I like having one nib for flair and another for normal writing or bad paper. Also two different inks. I already know what I'm going to fill: Pelikan M120(N?) but fitted with an older style two tone OBB AND WITH noodlers Navy.

 

Though I do understand the familiarity that comes with using one pen for an extended period of time, and have had a lot of that this month (I never thought this finish would grow on me to be found so attractive as I consider it now), but I haven't used a pen (two in the past) so consistently for such a period of time since high school.

[chromantic]

Well, the challenge is over. Though I've been off work since the 23rd, I still used my challenge pen at home when I had to write notes to myself so I feel I made a good go of it.

 

I did sort of cheat yesterday (Wed). I was invited to dinner at a nice restaurant so I took my M300, in the expectation that I wouldn't have any reason to actually use it. I just wanted to have a nice pen clipped to my shirt pocket. I did debate with myself several minutes over whether to take it and felt a little guilty when I decided to go for it.

 

As to what I learned from the experience?

 

The pen: I don't post so the sharp-ish edge on the end of the barrel combined with the short length makes the 3rd gen Sheaffer school pen unsuitable for everyday use because of that edge digging into the web. Even the shortest JIFs (curved clip), which also have a sharp edge, is a good 1/2" longer, while the flat-clip ones add another 1/4", making them more comfortable to use. The edge on the piston knob on the tiny M300, on the other hand, isn't quite so sharp (it's not a right angle) and I hold it slightly differently, too, parallel to the index so the knob is against the knuckle.

 

The ink: I love Skrip Turquoise. I love seeing it go down on the paper, it's a happy color, bright and cheerful, that brightens the day. But I really missed not having a variety of colors to choose from, colors to suit my mood that day. If I had to use just one color to use forever, it would probably be the new Lamy Petrol because, whereas Skrip Turquoise can't be other than what it is - bright and cheerful - Petrol has an air of mystery that never fails to fascinate yet, even there, I might sometimes not feel mysterious. Unless Lamy adds this to their regular line, it's a moot question anyways.

 

So, I learned that I like having both a variety of inks and a variety of pens in which to use those inks. I'm glad the challenge is over.

[Noihvo]

 

 

 

 

[ralfstc]

These are great reflections, thank you. I have three more days to go. One thing I've noticed is that I use a pen less. The Onto doesn't work on all papers, so I reach for a pencil instead. That's actually quite relaxing.

 

More to come on Monday!

 

Ralf

[sandy101]

OK, so it's the end of one pen one month for me. Here's what I said a month ago - now let's reflect.

 

I have chosen my Montblanc WE Shakespeare with some trepidation. It is alittle heaver than my usual everyday pen, so I hope by using it I'll get used to the weight. I'm using a current pen and pat of the reason is to see if these decorated jewlery pens are practical for everyday use. The ink I'm using is MB Royal Blue at the moment, but I have the rathe rlovely Leo Tolstoy ink, which is quite nice - and I'll put that in next. Fear is losing the pen - I have a case, and I'm making sure there is a Parker Jotter in the case for lending. I also have some pencils handy. I'm no planning on purchasing any more pens in the near future - at least not until the London Pen Show.

 

When I started out the MB was heavier than my usual EDC. However after two weeks my hand was used to the weight. Either my grip had changed, or my arm had developed to be able to cope with it. The pen fit into my usual pen case, and as such it was relatively easy to use as an everyday carry. One major consideration for having only one pen was that the ink had to work at work and at home. At work we've got to be able to photocopy stuff, so this meant I was restricted to blue or black ink - I switched from MB Royal blue to MB Mysterious Black. Being a piston filler, a fill lasted for two and a half weeks - I write on average 3 A5 sheets of paper a day. I also noticed that the ink flow in the pen improved as I used it. With every day use there were no hard starts or skips from the pen if I was using paper that suited the pen.

 

At home, my Clairefontaine 1951 A5 journal wasn't playing nicely with this nib - the ink/pen/paper combination was causing skips and dry outs, which I solved by switch to a non-glossy Monokaki paper at home and a Calepino A6 pocket book. Overall I was able to use this pen for about 85% of the time.There were times when I just wanted to make quick notes - and the action of finding and unscrewing the pen, or making the right pen and paper combination was too much bother - so I used a pencil in these circumstances. As such I found that what folk say about using pencil for sketching thoughts to be true - it was much easier to put rough thoughts and draw diagrams with pencil, rather than with a much heavier pen.

 

In addition to the MB, I had a Parker rollerball as part of my everyday carry. I send lots of postcards and not all postcards take kindly to FP ink - and the rollerball was an essential tool in these cases. Towards the end of the month, I found that I wasn't missing other pens, but that I was missing other colours. I love using turquoise and violet for personal correspondence and tend to use alternate colours in journals so I can tell the days apart.

 

So - what kind of conclusion can I make from this.

 

In this day and age is it possible to have one fountain pen and use it every day. The MB Writers Edition is just as practical as any other pen - yes, it is ornate and incredibly expensive - but does not lose its utility as an everyday writing implement - it worked everyday without complaint or stoppages as long as it had the right paper. It is possible to use an FP most of the time, and modern pens can do it. There was also a sense of liberation - as I wasn't thinking about what pen I should use, but was more focused upon what I wanted to do with the pen. I'm pretty sure I wrote more this month as a result. Also piston fillers give you a lot of ink - two weeks worth with one fill.

 

There will be times when it is impossible to use an FP - and so alternatives such as ballpoints or rollerballs are essential. Pencils also have a use as drafting tools - especially when you are making quick diagrams and notes - so one thing I've taken way from this, perversely is to use pencil more - and there are some beautiful pencils out there too Tombow, Mitsubishi and Palomino make very beautiful pencils. So now, my everyday carry is one FP, one biro or roller ball and a (mechanical) pencil.

 

By missing ink rather than pens, and coming to FPs as a writer rather than a collector, I'm starting to think that I only really need 4 decent fountain pens. One for black ink, one for blue, one for turquoise and one for violet and to keep one pen for each ink - as it makes cleaning and maintenance so much easier. At least one of these pens needs to be a fine for circumstances when I don't want lots of ink on the paper and the rest can be a combination of medium and broad nibs. I already have 7 candidates for these 4 inks, so I definitely don't need to buy more pens.

 

So, what advice would I give having completed this?

 

The best starting point is a pen with a decent feed and nib, which won't give you any grief. There's lots of these at different prices from different brands, and you can get this with modern and vintage pens. Your initial impression on the "feel" of a new pen, like a new pair of shoes, will change over two weeks of constant use. It will probably fit your hand better after you've had a good go with it. You should also choose paper and ink to suit your pen. At home, this is not a problem, but you might not get this luxury at work - and keeping a biro or rollerball handy is useful for the times when an FP won't work. Pencils are also nice to have for rough drafting. There are many lovely inks out there, and it is difficult to choose just one.

 

If your primary purpose is to write, then one pen with a suitable ink and paper is probably all you need. It reduces the potential for hard starts and maintenance problems which force you to you fiddle with the pen, rather than focus on what you want to do on the paper. Less time fiddling and more time writing, is a good thing.

 

Now, I'm off to fill a page with turquoise ink - and decide which pen I'm going to fill with violet for tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

[Laefar]

So, I'm done too.

With the exclusion of ruining my first pen of choice, it went really well. The Wing Sung 698 is a great workhorse pen, it's nice and smooth, works every time even after couple of days in the bag, holds a ton of ink, that last me almost a week, including 2 days of studies. The best recommendation for the pen can be the fact, that after full month of exclusive use I intend to keep it inked and it's going to be my college pen (along with something else with a different ink in it - I like having different colors for some things).

Still, I confirmed, that having only one pen is not enough for me - I can make it happen, but it's inconvenient. Some pens are better for carrying in a shirt pocket, some for bad quality paper, some are for showing off - it's a part of the deal, after all.

There is a pen to cover most of those uses - I'm still to find it, but I don't think there's one to replace them all. Anyway, I still feel safer with a backup pen on hands and as I said, there's some times I want to use more then one color.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Probably, with some other pen, if I want to define it's best use. Would I slow down buying new pens? I plan to. I actually learned, that I don't need many pens, but I do need few. Although I found out I like this one so much, that I actually ordered another one as a backup. I did kill the pen I wanted to take for this month, after all.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Laefar