Greetings from Austria

[Andwise]

Hello fellow pen friends,

 

I am Andrew from Austria and I will do my best to write acceptable English. I wrote with fountain pens in primary and secondary school and switched to ballpoints at work. Fountain pens aroused my interest 15 years later in 2015. A small collection formed since then including a Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl, M400 brown tortoise shell, Kaweco Liliput fire blue and a Graf von Faber Castell Classic Macassar.

But my new love is an Opus 88 Demonstrator with a 1.5 stub nib. I really love this wide and soft nib and it looks like I found my preference for big pens and wide nibs. Additionally I prefer journals in A4 with blank paper also my planner is A4 and I carry it every day with me. I would love to use big books like folios (?)

 

Beside fountain pens and other stationery I am a big fan of works by Tolkien and I play guitar and bass in my spare time. This spare time is reduced to a minimum since a little bit over a year because of my little daughter. She means everything to me and takes all the love and time I can give.

 

Kind regards,

 

Andrew

Edited June 19, 2022 by Andwise

[OCArt]

[LizEF]

Welcome to FPN, Andrew!   Glad you've joined us.

[mizgeorge]

Hello and welcome

 

[inkstainedruth]

Greetings from Pittsburgh!  

My first Pelikan was a 1990s era M400 Brown Tortoise which was bought for a special occasion and was (at the time) the most expensive pen I'd ever bought by a WIDE margin.  My husband sort of freaked at the price, and I had to point out that (1) new Pelikan M400s cost WAY more; and (2) they no longer made that color (of course then a few years later Pelikan made a liar out of me and reissued the M400 in Brown Tortoise).  After I bought the M400 Stresemann (saving money by buying from an eBay vendor in Germany) and then going "Hey, wonder what else he's got at the moment..." and buying an M405 Blue Black, my husband then believed me about the price of the Brown Tortoise....   Of course, then I got the phone call from PayPal... going, "Did you know that a charge of X amount was just sent to a vender in Europe?"  "Why, yes -- yes I did!  But thank you for calling!"  Then got off the phone looked at my husband and said, "OMG -- I really DID just spend that much money on only 2 pens, didn't I?" 

I generally suggest that new people click on the "View New Content" button at the top of the page, to get a good overview of a range of topics (you can adjust how much/often it refreshes).  And to have a look at the pinned Index to the Ink Reviews Forum.  But I also warn people that we are all shameless enablers, and will be happy to help them spend their disposable income on pens, ink, paper, desk accessories, repair tools, sealing wax (and of course seals), pen storage, ephemera, and pen shows.

Have fun here, enjoy the site, and remember -- the only stupid questions are the ones that don't get asked.  And I'm constantly humbled and amazed by the kindness and generosity of the pen community, as well as the amount of talent here.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth 

[Recursion]

[Wahl]

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! So glad to have you as a member!!

[Andwise]

Thank you all for the very warm welcome. 

 

@inkstainedruth what a funny story. My first expensive pen was the brown tortoise also. I couldn't believe I was spending that much money on a fountain pen but I still love it though its nib has a little bit of a baby bottom. I bought some micromesh but I wasn't brave enough yet to use it

 

I usually check for "unread content" in forums. It's a little bit hidden in this forum but I have found it and sneak around a few topics.

 

Kind regards

 

Andrew

[amberleadavis]

[Rebbe]

Howdy und willkommen aus Texas! 🤠

What other fantasy authors do you like? What is your favorite work by Tolkien? What genre of music do you like to play with your guitar and bass?

[Paul_LZ]

Welcome to FPN 🙂 

[Andwise]

On 6/21/2022 at 4:35 PM, Rebbe said:

Howdy und willkommen aus Texas! 🤠

What other fantasy authors do you like? What is your favorite work by Tolkien? What genre of music do you like to play with your guitar and bass?

Howdy and Servus from Austria 😎

 

honestly I don‘t know many other fantasy authors. I tried the Mistborn Saga from Brandon Sanderson because he should be the next Tolkien but the first book didn‘t catch me like everything I know from Tolkien 🙂

 

Earthsea from Ursula K Le Guin is on my pile to read and when there are some beautiful hard- or leatherbounds from Terry Pratchett available I definitely give them a try. 
I don‘t think that I am a typical reader of fantasy books 🙂

 

My favourite work by Tolkien? That‘s a tough question 🙂 I am through his three main works LotR, Hobbit an Silmarillion and love them all. I am about to work through his additional and scientific works but that’s very hard for me because they are only available in english. 
 

In terms of music I am really into Metallica, ZZ Top and AC/DC and love them to play.

 

Do you read any fantasy or play guitar?

 

Kind regards,

 

Andrew

[mallymal1]

Hi Andrew.

 

 

Metallica rocks...and The Rings rule.  🤘

[Rebbe]

6 hours ago, Andwise said:

Howdy and Servus from Austria 😎

...

In terms of music I am really into Metallica, ZZ Top and AC/DC and love them to play.

 

Do you read any fantasy or play guitar?

 

Kind regards,

 

Andrew

I am learning the piano, and play bass guitar (poorly). I'm what is called a metal head in English - I really like Heavy Metal music. Recently I've been listening to and trying to keep up with Unleash the Archers (Canadian) and PowerWolf (Deutsche). 

I read too much fantasy and sci fi. Right now I'm averaging 2-4 books a week. If you liked Tolkien because of the sheer scope of his world-building I'd suggest checking out Stephen Erikson's "Gardens of the Moon." Epic fantasy spanning generations and epochs of different gods and civilizations. It isn't as sweet as Tolkien, but that makes the moments of kindness more profound, in my opinion. Also huge books and many of them.

Terry Pratchett is one of my favorites! 

 

[1nkulus]

You have successfully entered a rabbit hole, who knows what it'll yield and where it'll lead.

Enjoy the fascinating journey and feel free to ask/share... 

 

[northstar]

Hello and welcome to FPN.

[InesF]

Hi @Andwise, servus Andrew!

Sorry for such a late reply - welcome to FPN! All the best to your fountain pen journey and all the best to your young family!

Good to know, there are other Austrians around.