Just received my first ever fountain pens for Christmas, Greetings from Chicago!

[colorpops]

6 hours ago, Aysedasi said:

Welcome!   My you have a generous family indeed!  Did they have complete freedom in what they purchased for you or did you give them any hints of what kind of pens (and nibs) you would like to have?  I'm interested in that the two fountain pens they bought you had fine and extra fine nibs rather than the 'standard' mediums that might have been bought for someone just starting out with fountain pens....  That's not a criticism by the way, just curious....

I actually hadn't explicitly asked for pens as gifts so it was completely up to them. And I know they know nothing about them. My sister said the sales associate at the pen store asked her what size nib and she chose whatever was already on the Sailor. The SA included her business card in the box and told her I could go in and have it swapped out if I wanted. As for the EF pen, I'm pretty sure my mom just bought it off the Montblanc website and picked whatever looked good to her. She had it engraved with my name so I don't want to exchange it (probably couldn't if I wanted to). My plan is to go to the pen store this week and get a cheapie pen or two with a medium and a broad nib so I can experiment.

[sansenri]

I'll say it again, you don't need to start with the Montblanc straight off, but I would be against getting additional cheapies, which might actually put you off, when you have a first class starter pen right there (the Pro Gear Slim).

You cannot do it much harm so fill it up and give it a go!

Moreover your sister will be delighted to know you are using it, and not something else instead...!

[colorpops]

6 hours ago, Chouffleur said:

Next Thanksgiving you might try expressing an interest in supercars, or vintage Burgundy, or perhaps precious jewels. With a family that generous it's only courteous to help them out with a few ideas. 😉

 

Nice pens and inks, too.

LOL, not a bad idea - thanks! My family goes big (relatively speaking) for Christmas. It's part of our Filipino culture married with our adopted American culture's tradition of consumerism . Throughout the year, we usually do not indulge. For example, most of my clothes are from H&M, Target, TJ Maxx and Uniqlo. But I have a few designer handbags that I really have no business carrying (in relation to my salary) but I have them because of my family's tradition to spoil each other rotten 1x a year. One year I talked about wanting to learn the cello as an adult. Lo and behold, I got a secondhand cello from my parents and sister, lessons by a conservatory student from my brother, and a concert subscription to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from my other sister and her husband. My family loves a theme. 

 

And you've inspired me. My dad *is* into supercars. I just looked it up and there's a racetrack not too far from my parents' that offers driving experiences where a person can pay to wear a racing suit and helmet and drive a Lamborghini around the track for 3 laps. A sibling and I can split the cost as next year's Christmas present. Thanks!

[stephanos]

First of all, welcome!

 

You really have all you need already - no need to get more ... yet.

As others have noted, if you're in the process of jumping down the rabbit-hole you'll wake up one morning and find that your pens have mysteriously multiplied.

There are a great many videos on YouTube. Some of the best for newbies come from Goulet.

 

Going to Anderson Pens with your gift certificate seems like a good plan. I'm sure the staff there will be able to give you tips and you should be able to try how different nib widths feel for you. Often, if your writing style is expansive, you may benefit from broader nibs and if it's concise, then narrower nibs may be better for you.

Just make sure to write without pressure - if you've written mostly with ballpoint pens, you're likely used to pressing far too hard (see LizEF's comment, above).

 

If you feel that you absolutely have to buy a relatively inexpensive pen now, then you'll have many options. Some are the Faber Castell Loom, TWSBI Eco, Lamy Safari, Kaweco Sport or Platinum Prefounte.

 

Other things you might want to consider spending your gift certificate on are good paper (e.g. Rhodia pad or notebook) or a pen case to store your pens.

 

Having said all that, there's really no rush: you might get more from your visit to the physical store after playing with what you have for a bit.

 

Finally, enjoy!

[colorpops]

2 hours ago, sansenri said:

I'll say it again, you don't need to start with the Montblanc straight off, but I would be against getting additional cheapies, which might actually put you off, when you have a first class starter pen right there (the Pro Gear Slim).

You cannot do it much harm so fill it up and give it a go!

Moreover your sister will be delighted to know you are using it, and not something else instead...!

 

37 minutes ago, stephanos said:

First of all, welcome!

 

You really have all you need already - no need to get more ... yet.

As others have noted, if you're in the process of jumping down the rabbit-hole you'll wake up one morning and find that your pens have mysteriously multiplied.

There are a great many videos on YouTube. Some of the best for newbies come from Goulet.

 

Going to Anderson Pens with your gift certificate seems like a good plan. I'm sure the staff there will be able to give you tips and you should be able to try how different nib widths feel for you. Often, if your writing style is expansive, you may benefit from broader nibs and if it's concise, then narrower nibs may be better for you.

Just make sure to write without pressure - if you've written mostly with ballpoint pens, you're likely used to pressing far too hard (see LizEF's comment, above).

 

If you feel that you absolutely have to buy a relatively inexpensive pen now, then you'll have many options. Some are the Faber Castell Loom, TWSBI Eco, Lamy Safari, Kaweco Sport or Platinum Prefounte.

 

Other things you might want to consider spending your gift certificate on are good paper (e.g. Rhodia pad or notebook) or a pen case to store your pens.

 

Having said all that, there's really no rush: you might get more from your visit to the physical store after playing with what you have for a bit.

 

Finally, enjoy!

Thank you so much! Are dip pens anything like fountain pens? I've never used a fountain pen before but I have used a dip pen back when I was 9/10. I was obsessed with Tolkien/Middle-Earth and got a dip pen set so I could make my own maps and write in gibberish Tengwar. I absolutely destroyed that nib not long after I brought it home. But I had no instruction or the internet I could use as a resource. That experience has left me apprehensive about using the nicer pens I just received. I'm afraid I'll break them too. I feel more comfortable learning on an affordable pen that wouldn't pain me if I were to break it. Also, the store said I could exchange my unused Sailor for another size nib if I want. I'm going to experiment with different size nibs on cheaper pens so I can get a general idea of what I like to use then commit to a nib size for the Sailor. The Sailor model I have is around $200 which isn't something I can regularly afford. 

[A Smug Dill]

32 minutes ago, colorpops said:

Also, the store said I could exchange my unused Sailor for another size nib if I want. I'm going to experiment with different size nibs on cheaper pens so I can get a general idea of what I like to use then commit to a nib size for the Sailor.

 

A Sailor gold nib of a given width grade is not going to write like the nib of the same width grade in a cheap Chinese-branded, or Western-branded but Chinese-made (e.g. Faber-Castell Grip, Monteverde Monza), pen. Actually, I'd say not even a cheap Japanese ‘Big Three‘ brand (i.e. Sailor, Platinum, and Pilot) pen would give you a comparable experience to properly evaluate what it would be like to write with your Sailor Professional Gear Slim's 14K gold H-F nib; that includes Sailor's own HiAce Neo and Profit Jr, as well as Platinum Preppy/ Plaisir/ Prefounte and Pilot Kaküno/ 78G/ MR (including the Pilot MR Metropolitan).

 

The closest you'd get with a cheaper pen is one from Sailor's Procolor product line (including a number of models now under the Shikiori banner) with a steel nib bearing the 1911 imprint; but they aren't exactly cheap. (They're good pens, but I can't say that they're worth the asking prices in the UK and US.)

 

But, if line width is your primary concern, and not the feel and precision aspects, then have a look at:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/343508-q-i-use-western-fine-nibs-what-is-the-japanese-equivalent/?do=findComment&comment=4173821

 

[Wahl]

[colorpops]

I finally used my pens!

 

So I picked up another pen and bottle of ink today, lol. But not at Anderson Pens with my gift certificate.  I wasn't even planning on buying anything today.  I had to pick up some art supplies for work at a local art supply store and they had a beautiful Ferris Wheel Press display.  I looked at the reviews online for the "Brush" pen but they were disappointing. The consensus seems to be beautiful packaging, whimsical branding but just okay product. Nevertheless, the packaging and their aesthetic was too enticing to pass up. AND I still hadn't touched any of my Christmas bonus money from work. So I got one of their "Carousel" pens with a medium steel nib. Most reviews I saw online was for the $130 "Brush" pen which is over my budget anyways. The Carousel was only $29. I got a 38ml bottle of April Showers - a medium silvery grey.

 

I got home and used the Ferris Wheel first. Seemed smooth to me. I embarrassingly forgot how to write certain letters in cursive. I'm a lefty but only had minimal smearing. I learned pretty quickly that I should never shake a fountain pen when the cap is off, lol. Moved on to the Sailor Pro Slim. The difference was staggering! So smooth! Then finally tried the Meisterstuck which I found to write only marginally better than the Sailor. I'm having so much fun with this. Also, I've just discovered Vinta inks from the Philippines and can't wait to order and try those. 

 

Thank you all again for the warm welcome and support!