Anybody Here Write With *only* One Fountain Pen?

[PAKMAN]

Currently I'm in the odd position of having only one pen inked and in use. Typically it is 3-4 pens in use.

[gmathio]

I'm in the first category too. My daily pens are around five and, but I don't have a specific program in using them. Maybe I should aspire Mysterious Mose's "ritual" and use each one on a given day...

Edited July 17, 2020 by gmathio

[cellmatrix]

although I've used a lot of pens over the years, I'd given up on the pen acquisition thing, and just used a pilot vanishing point for several years as my only pen. Finally it got to the point where the vanishing point was not writing as good as it used to, as it had gotten quite beat up over the years. So I retired it and upgraded earlier this year to a montblanc 14 as my daily carry/only pen.

 

Edit to add: I'm going to try to work on the vanishing point so I can use it as a back up, if possible. I worry that the trap door may not be sealing totally anymore. Its pretty worn down.

[inkstainedruth]

When I started out, I was only using basically one pen. But I was also only using a fountain pen for my morning pages journal: a couple of Parker Reflexes (in succession) but the rubber on the sections disintegrated after a while. I bought the second one when that happened with the first one, and then couldn't find them at Staples any more, and ended up with the first Parker Vector. When I accidentally left the pen and current journal volume at my in-laws' house in CT I found that writing 3 pages a day with a ballpoint (which I used for everything else, mostly), just didn't have the same "feel" (I mean emotionally, rather than actual tactile feel). The place I had gotten the Vector didn't have more, and my choices were a $35 US pen or a Pilot Varsity. I was going "OMG -- I can't afford a $35 pen! (little did I know... ). And even then was only using Quink Permanent Blue cartridges. But the Varsity conked out after 3 days. So I started looking online for another Vector and in the process found Goulet Pens ("Purple? There's purple ink? KEWL!") and also found my way here. And it's been downhill ever since. I blame yinz all for the shameless enablers you are (my husband CERTAINLY does -- but admitted to me a couple of days ago when we were signing the tax forms that he actually likes how fountain pens write; that day it was one of the Snorkels, filled with vintage Skrip Permanent Royal Blue). He might not of said that, mind, if it had been the Noodler's Charlie currently inked up with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, because that pen has been burping ink like crazy with the heat and humidity around here (we'll see if the bank accepts the check I paid the JC Penney card bill with, with all the black drips... ).

For me, once I found that there was more to life than black, blue, or blue-black ink there was no turning back. I haven't really found an orange ink that I like, and yellow tends to be too light to be legible unless it's more of a gold tone (like De Atramentis Gold). But pretty much every other color is -- in some flavor -- fair game: I would have said "Oh, I'm a blue/pink/purple/light grey ink person"... until I saw a review of Noodler's El Lawrence, which looks like used motor oil. I kept staring at the images in the review, muttering "That is one weird-ass color..." But it was like a car wreck on the highway -- you can't look away no matter how hard you want to. And when I discovered that my old bank (which insisted on ONLY blue or black inks for writing checks) didn't bat an eye over the "not black" subversiveness of El Lawrence? I was hooked....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting issues

Edited July 17, 2020 by inkstainedruth

[max dog]

I find I usually gravitate to one pen. Seems kind of wasteful to have so many (50).

[RogerRamjet]

I have 5 designated pens at work, each used for different purposes:

- Wahl desk pen for quick note jotting.

- Sheaffer PFM III (med nib) for writing Thank You notes in Sheaffer Permanent Blue-Black from 1950's.

- Sheaffer Sentinel with an xf nib with the same Sheaffer Permanent Blue-Black because I use it for writing out announcements every week and I have been known to spill water on them - I learned after the 3rd time to use permanent ink.

- Cross Peerless 125 (New York) with an EF nib for editing with Sheaffer Peacock blue (or equivalent color).

- Visconti Homo Sapiens EF nib (writes like a fine-medium) with chocolate brown ink (different makes at different times) for general writing.

 

At home:

- Parker 51 with whatever I feel like for ink, on the kitchen table, for post-it notes and lists

- Cross Peerless 125 (Obsidian) - EF nib - in my den for notes (use whatever color I want until empty then try a new color)

 

I do not rotate much because I enjoy all these pens

[Mech-for-i]

Actually I do . The more accurate description would be that I had a few pens that I keep using and then at the same moment I also had a few pens inked on rotation .. And they are all used.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I have five pens inked at the moment. Between two and six is typical. I might have only one fountain pen with me when traveling. Remember travel?

 

I have acquired a large number of pens, and quite a few of them are nice to write with. Out of those, I have a smaller, but still significant number of favorites. I'll generally have one or two of the favorites inked, maybe three. There are others that I rotate in from time to time. Every now and then I look at the collection and say "haven't tried that in a while".

 

One factor is that I am not of a generation that grew up using only fountain pens and taking them for granted. For me they were a discovery of late middle age, something interesting and new to explore. Although they are now my most common type of writing instrument, my attitude toward them has not become so utilitarian that I would consider using just one pen.

[Tseg]

I currently have 8 pens inked... for some time would have as many as a dozen inked... but knew that was too much for me. This past week I bought a 5 pen holder:

• Ideally I only keep 5 pens inked
• My 24 pen case was overflowing

[ENewton]

I have 5 designated pens at work, each used for different purposes:

- Wahl desk pen for quick note jotting.

- Sheaffer PFM III (med nib) for writing Thank You notes in Sheaffer Permanent Blue-Black from 1950's.

- Sheaffer Sentinel with an xf nib with the same Sheaffer Permanent Blue-Black because I use it for writing out announcements every week and I have been known to spill water on them - I learned after the 3rd time to use permanent ink.

- Cross Peerless 125 (New York) with an EF nib for editing with Sheaffer Peacock blue (or equivalent color).

- Visconti Homo Sapiens EF nib (writes like a fine-medium) with chocolate brown ink (different makes at different times) for general writing.

 

At home:

- Parker 51 with whatever I feel like for ink, on the kitchen table, for post-it notes and lists

- Cross Peerless 125 (Obsidian) - EF nib - in my den for notes (use whatever color I want until empty then try a new color)

 

I do not rotate much because I enjoy all these pens

 

I love that you write enough thank-you notes to have a pen dedicated to that purpose.

[MichaelBranley]

I have a boatload of pens, both premium European and Japanese brands (Pelikan, Pilot, as well as cheap Chinese upstarts (Moonman, Pen BBBS, etc) and vintage US models (Parker, Shaeffer, etc) and lots of inks. Pre-pandemic, I would keep 3 or 4 pens inked at a time and so seldom did I use than that they frequently dried out. Now that I am working from home and have a bit more time for journaling and tinkering with my pen collection, I have about 25 pens inked today. When I was working in the office, I did not want to be known as Mr. Fountain Pen, but in the privacy of my home, I use them all the time and am grateful for the time check them out, take them apart, swap out nibs, read up on them. Probably once things go back to normal her in New York (I figure around 2023) I will reduce the number of inked pens and may settle on a favorite ink and just a single favorite pen to keep inked at one time.

[cellmatrix]

I have a boatload of pens, both premium European and Japanese brands (Pelikan, Pilot, as well as cheap Chinese upstarts (Moonman, Pen BBBS, etc) and vintage US models (Parker, Shaeffer, etc) and lots of inks. Pre-pandemic, I would keep 3 or 4 pens inked at a time and so seldom did I use than that they frequently dried out. Now that I am working from home and have a bit more time for journaling and tinkering with my pen collection, I have about 25 pens inked today. When I was working in the office, I did not want to be known as Mr. Fountain Pen, but in the privacy of my home, I use them all the time and am grateful for the time check them out, take them apart, swap out nibs, read up on them. Probably once things go back to normal her in New York (I figure around 2023) I will reduce the number of inked pens and may settle on a favorite ink and just a single favorite pen to keep inked at one time.

 

Just like you, I also have bought a lot of pens over the years, in the pen and ink acquisition mode which you invariably get caught into on this site. And I used to keep a lot of pens inked with different inks. I can't tell you how much time I spent flushing out and cleaning different inks out of so many different pens. Finally I got fed up and just like you are thinking about doing, I settled on one favorite ink and one favorite pen and used them exclusively.

 

I can tell you once I did it, it was so nice not to have to spend so much time cleaning and maintaining all the time. Also, having found a good pen and good ink, I stopped having to mentally contemplate what might be the next pen or ink i needed to buy. I stopped spending time looking on eBay and classifieds for new pens to buy or for that 'grail' pen. I've saved a lot of money over the past few years not buying a bunch of ink and pens.

 

I'm going to sell my other pens I don't use, some time when I can. I might just set up a booth at the SF pen show next year, and sell them off at a bargain price. Hope the covid vaccine gets made so we can have the show.

 

Anyway, I've found I can spend my time and up my fountain pen skills on other things, like writing letters and improving my penmanship, which has been much more satisfying to me.

 

Overall I am much happier with one pen and one ink, and I hope you might find the same. Good luck to you!

[sansenri]

been there

back in the days when I started writing I was almost immediately taught to use a fountain pen. For many years I have used one single pen (the one I had) and one ink. Over a period of about 35 years I used the same pen until it gave up on me, a Pelikan, an Aurora, another Pelikan.

Today I have many more pens and enjoy rotating them.

[Manalto]

Seasonally. During the school year I use a burgundy Platinum 3776. When the school year ends, the the other pens get inked up in more interesting colors and have an opportunity to strut their stuff.

[JotterAddict62]

I only have one pen inked up for my daily user, a blue P51 with a med nib. I have lost count how many Parker Fp that I have.

[Freddy]

Yes.

 

Fred

[sansenri]

at a time, that is...

[siddr90]

I only tend to use my Pilot 823. I've had it inked for months now, I just change my ink every time it runs out.

 

So I'm in the camp #3 with you. Previously I used to be in #1 and #2 for a few years but I've really simplified my choices recently.

[Mongoosey]

I've been going through a phase of using only 1 pen at time for a while. It's easier. Less worries. I know what I like.

 

I may use 2 pens at a time, if I have a staunch preference for a Journaling/Personal pen that isn't conducive as a Work pen/EDC.

 

I may up it to 3 Pens if I need a different color.

 

I'd up it to 4 if I was feeling a little wild n' crazy ; )

 

It's more of a spectrum rather than discrete categories for me.

[Arkanabar]

My dad was a one pen, one ink man. He used a 1954 1st gen aero "51" exclusively from the day he bought it to around 1980, and he always filled it with Quink Permanent Black with Solv-X.

Not me. I got my first fountain pen in 1986, and within weeks, I owned two more. But I was always one to own several writing instruments. Before FPs, I bought and used 0.5mm mechanical pencils, and I always owned several of them, too.

I nearly always have at least three or more inked. One is always a Hero 616 filled with black ink. One is always the Pelikan M205 Aqua (F) that my wife bought for me one Christmas, always filled with Ku-Jaku she bought for me a prior Christmas. It's the one I use to leave her notes, when I leave the house before she's up. And, until the Bad Black Moccasin that I regard as too awful to give away is gone, one is an FPR Jaipur with a stub nib, filled with BBM diluted 1:1. There may be one or more others filled from time to time, if I feel the itch to have a different color ready. But it's a lot easier to live with than the nine or more I used to keep inked.

But I am also past acquisition (at least, for the most part). I've pretty much figured out which inks I want. I know what I like in a pen, as far as size, shape, weight, ink capacity, and nibs go, and I have several that till the bill. I'm more or less done. I have four Pelikan M2xx, which is probably one too many. I have enough ebonite pens, enough Indian pens that are sufficiently reliable and that I can fully disassemble, and so on. I might get myself an ebonite FPR Jaipur v2 if it was offered with an ebonite feed, but I'm not really considering it. I come here mainly to offer advice to new entrants into the hobby.