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[amberleadavis]

5 hours ago, txomsy said:

 

 

It is writing that matters, not what with.

 

I don't know if that is true for me.  I write for many reasons - one being tactile. I like a specific nib/body/ink/paper combo.  Another reason is guilt. I paid so much money for that pen, that by gosh, I'm going to use it.

[amberleadavis]

1 hour ago, thisteensy said:

I think you might have started me down a whole new interesting path. I grew up in the 80s, so neon is my catnip, and I love that other people are repelled by it. I have a comme des garçons pochette that is neon yellow on one side and hot pink on the other. It delights me every time I see it lurking in a dark purse, and I dig the surprise on other cashiers' faces when I pull it out.

p.s. being underestimated can be kind of a strategy in your profession, no? I love it.

 

Oh I love the neon pen idea.  Two of those above glow in black light. The purple one has neon rainbows.  I am just grinning.

[thisteensy]

17 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

 

I don't know if that is true for me.  I write for many reasons - one being tactile. I like a specific nib/body/ink/paper combo.  Another reason is guilt. I paid so much money for that pen, that by gosh, I'm going to use it.

Definitely tactile, and this is not even new since I started obsessing about fountain pens. I have always been a picky weirdo about what I write with. From the time I picked up my first pencil in school, there were some that I loved and some I absolutely hated, and whatever they were they had to be sharp or else. The worst were the ones that were kind of, I don't know, greasy? They almost squeaked when you wrote with them, and the mark they made was faint and inconsistent and a little bit shiny. I hated them so much, I am 50 years old and still mad about them.

Edited December 18, 2023 by thisteensy

[amberleadavis]

1 hour ago, thisteensy said:

Definitely tactile, and this is not even new since I started obsessing about fountain pens. I have always been a picky weirdo about what I write with. From the time I picked up my first pencil in school, there were some that I loved and some I absolutely hated, and whatever they were they had to be sharp or else. The worst were the ones that were kind of, I don't know, greasy? They almost squeaked when you wrote with them, and the mark they made was faint and inconsistent and a little bit shiny. I hated them so much, I am 50 years old and still mad about them.

 

I hoarded these pencils my step mom bought me one year for valentine's day.  They were heart-shaped with no eraser but they made the best black marks of any pencil I have ever used.

[thisteensy]

45 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

 

I hoarded these pencils my step mom bought me one year for valentine's day.  They were heart-shaped with no eraser but they made the best black marks of any pencil I have ever used.

So relatable. I still use pencils for sketching, and I am delighted to be able to have any kind of pencil I damn well want, AND an awesome sharpener.

[Bo Bo Olson]

There was a time, when it was One Man, One Pen....and every decade he got a new fountain pen.

Such pens had to have balance....(in he was going to use it all day for a decade)..........and if lucky in German pens one had semi-flex or later regular flex/Japanese soft nibs....be that gold or steel.

So I could only afford some new Pelikan 200's...and they got expensive for LE's.

I must have @ 8 modern pens....post '98 or so. Out side the 200's all on sale.

The other 110 were old used pens.

 

Vintages and semi-vintage pens to me have better balance, being smaller, lighter and mostly have better nibs.......and they work well.

 

If I only bought new pens, I'd only have the one I had had since 1971. One Man One Pen....silver P-75.

It actually has great balance posted.

 

A gold nail is a nail just like a steel nail. A nail is a nail..

 

Comparing a steel nail with a gold semi-nail...like a P-75 or modern Pelikan 400/600 doesn't make gold softer than steel.

..and the modern Pelikan 200 a steel nib is regular flex/Japanese 'soft'. A nice smooth bouncy ride, in either case.

 

[thisteensy]

1 hour ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

If I only bought new pens, I'd only have the one I had had since 1971. One Man One Pen....silver P-75.

It actually has great balance posted.

 

You are the first person I have ever seen mention this pen. Fascinating. Very opinionated (see earlier comments). Thank you.

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

I bought it in the USAF's BX...base Exchange, which is cheaper than civy street, for @ $22 in silver money.

15 years ago, when I started this addiction it was  worth $225.

During the last Depression it fell to $75...and being , having one, didn't buy a second.....there were many other pens to buy.

It is so much better than a silver Parker Sonnet don't know why but from my reading it is.

 

As a 20 pen 'noobie' I did a balance test...for silver it is a lighter pen than expected, and unexpectedly it finished third.

 

Pens can have vastly different balances.

I had never expected my standard sized slightly thick girthed MB 234 1/2 Deluxe, to be first, because one felt the brass guts of the piston mechanism, giving it somewhat back weight.

Second was the thin, medium-large Geha 725, Which new cost DM360 or at 4 DM to 1 $, $90.

Third was the silver P-75...which cost @$22 in the same era as that Geha 725.

4th was a standard width, medium long Pelikan 400nn...only took some two or more years to rate the 400nn over the 400 for better balanced.

 

[Estycollector]

Having a nice writing instrument is what I enjoy most. I do tend to make lots of notes, reminders, journal, and record what I am learning. Having something to use is especially important because it allows me to physically write better. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Fountain pens ease hand and arm fatigue, and will improve hand writing if one slows down just a tick.

[inkstainedruth]

On 12/18/2023 at 9:08 PM, thisteensy said:

You are the first person I have ever seen mention this pen. Fascinating. Very opinionated (see earlier comments). Thank you.

I'd never heard of Parker 75s before joining FPN.  Of course, I'd never heard of Parker 51s at that point EITHER....  Now I have a bunch of vintage 51s (both Aerometrics and 51 Vacs).  And a sterling Ciselé 75 with a broad nib....  (Now kicking myself that I didn't buy a backup bottle of the MB Jimi Hendrix ink -- yeah, at full retail price at that  -- because that ink looks SOOOO good coming out of that 75.....

I've always been a sucker for sterling silver stuff; early on here there was a thread called "Show us your silver pens" and Pakman posted photos of the pen that was his retirement gift from his company -- a Yard-o-Led Viceroy Victorian Grande....   Now, a Grande would be WAAAY to big and heavy a pen for me -- but the Standard size Viceroy Victorian is #1 on the list of "When I win the lottery..." (because that's the ONLY way I'd be able to afford one...).  But they are absolutely drop dead gorgeous....

This is a dangerous site.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Runnin_Ute]

At any given time, I will have anywhere from eight to twelve pens inked. Right now it's 13. Of those, six were made before 1960 (Pelikan 140 and 400NN, Parker 51 (3- two aerometric models and a Demi Vacumatic) and an older no name lever filler. A Parker 45, I think it's a 60's version, the rest are all 1990 or later. 

 

 I do like some more than others, but all write well and get a turn in the rotation. I have about 60 pens or so.

[thisteensy]

8 minutes ago, Runnin_Ute said:

At any given time, I will have anywhere from eight to twelve pens inked. Right now it's 13. Of those, six were made before 1960 (Pelikan 140 and 400NN, Parker 51 (3- two aerometric models and a Demi Vacumatic) and an older no name lever filler. A Parker 45, I think it's a 60's version, the rest are all 1990 or later. 

 

 I do like some more than others, but all write well and get a turn in the rotation. I have about 60 pens or so.

I probably have the fewest pens of anyone on this forum, but so far nothing beats the Pelikan 400NN for me. I have the KF nib, but I would love another with the medium. It's the only pen I have purchased from David Nishimura, and so far I just don't know if that's the reason it's so great, of if it's the pen itself. Is it the pen or his touch on the nib? The answer to these questions always seems to be buy more pens. 💸

[thisteensy]

12 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

I'd never heard of Parker 75s before joining FPN.  Of course, I'd never heard of Parker 51s at that point EITHER....  Now I have a bunch of vintage 51s (both Aerometrics and 51 Vacs).  And a sterling Ciselé 75 with a broad nib....  (Now kicking myself that I didn't buy a backup bottle of the MB Jimi Hendrix ink -- yeah, at full retail price at that  -- because that ink looks SOOOO good coming out of that 75.....

I've always been a sucker for sterling silver stuff; early on here there was a thread called "Show us your silver pens" and Pakman posted photos of the pen that was his retirement gift from his company -- a Yard-o-Led Viceroy Victorian Grande....   Now, a Grande would be WAAAY to big and heavy a pen for me -- but the Standard size Viceroy Victorian is #1 on the list of "When I win the lottery..." (because that's the ONLY way I'd be able to afford one...).  But they are absolutely drop dead gorgeous....

This is a dangerous site.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Interesting. You never know where you're going to end up when you start a new hobby. It was the futuristic vintage celluloids that sucked me in, and then all of the different filling mechanisms, and now, thanks to this thread, I'm looking at neon demonstrators and hammered sterling silver. I never thought I would be a gold pen person, but some of the vintage pens with the gold overlays are drawing my attention now. I don't know you people, but we share a particular sensitivity, which I did not know until now could be a way to connect with other humans, and that truly delights me. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

35 minutes ago, thisteensy said:

e Pelikan 400NN for me

400nn (2, one finally tortoise) is a slight tad better balanced than the 400, (I have a 500, and three other vintage 400's &  one a '90's.

Would pick a 400nn if allowed to desert island with only one pen.....1.95/2.0ml  is what the '50-65 400's loaded. Those of '82-now, only 1.35ml.

23 minutes ago, thisteensy said:

never thought I would be a gold pen person,

Won in the good old days of live auction, when one only had to beat a dealer who had to sell it for a profit (very few pen nuts in the way)....pre-telephone and computer ruined live auction era. Great nib,  The reason I chased that pen, and was at my affordable max €150, under gold price, for a 14k gold overlay.

[thisteensy]

9 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

The reason I chased that pen, and was at my affordable max €150, under gold price, for a 14k gold overlay.

Oh, wow. What a find. Yes, that would never happen today.

I'm sure many of us wish we could go back in time and start our collections before it became a thing. Imagine being a new collector, like myself, in these times. At my very first local pen meetup, a wizened gentleman offered to sell me a vintage pen for $1500. I'm sure that is the going rate. I am also sure that he is happily taking advantage of the market. He didn't even look me in the eye when he said it. The faithful may speculate as to why.

[inkstainedruth]

32 minutes ago, thisteensy said:

Interesting. You never know where you're going to end up when you start a new hobby. It was the futuristic vintage celluloids that sucked me in, and then all of the different filling mechanisms, and now, thanks to this thread, I'm looking at neon demonstrators and hammered sterling silver. I never thought I would be a gold pen person, but some of the vintage pens with the gold overlays are drawing my attention now. I don't know you people, but we share a particular sensitivity, which I did not know until now could be a way to connect with other humans, and that truly delights me. 

Oh yeah, I'm with you on that.

I started with a couple of cheapie Parker Reflexes and was just using them for journaling (mostly to get myself into the habit).  Only the rubber on the sections disintegrated after a while on both the first one and the second one.  And then Staples no longer carried them, but I still had some cartridges.  So I went online and found Parker's website and found that an old-time stationer's in downtown Pittsburgh was an authorized Parker dealer.  And ended up buying a Parker Vector (and felt SOOO extravagant, having paid a whopping $9 US just for a pen (!) -- little did I know... ).  And then when I accidentally left the then current journal volume and the pen and the bag they were in at my brother-in-law's one January, I found that journalling with a BP just wasn't the same experience....  So in the process of trying to find a replacement, I found my way here, and also found the Goulet Pens website (and was going, "Purple?  You can get PURPLE ink?  Tell me more!").  And one ink had a review from someone local and I was going "Hey -- I know someone by that name...."  And PM'd the guy, going, "Hey Red! Is this you?"  (This is FPN member Uncle Red, who I've known from my other hobby almost as long as I've known my husband....  I haven't seen or heard from him in a couple of years and hope he's okay...). 

When I found my way here, I only read the Parker Forum at first.  ALL of it....  And when I started reading about vintage Parker 51s I knew I wanted one....  And one turned into close to a dozen at this point (both Aerometrics and 51 Vacs) in various colors.  And then discovered other brands and models (this is a dangerous place for my wallet).  And now tend to scope out antiques stores and estate sales for vintage pens (and inks), although my most expensive pens are modern ones. But I'm also a complete sucker for inexpensive "school" pens like Lamy Safaris and Parker Vectors and have a couple of the Sheaffer "Star Wars" pens.  And I never know what is going to attract my attention and have me go "Oooh, shiny!" -- it could be an interesting fill system or an exotic nib or just something silly like the Parker Vector Shrek series "Puss in Boots" pen (yeah, when I saw that pen on eBay few years ago I was going "OMG -- I must HAVE that!"; and it didn't hurt that it was inexpensive, and being sold by a good vendor I'd bought pens from before...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

On 12/17/2023 at 5:33 PM, amberleadavis said:

I don't know if that is true for me.  I write for many reasons - one being tactile. I like a specific nib/body/ink/paper combo.  

I'm with you on that.  When I left my first "good" pen (a Parker Vector with an F nib) and the then current journal at my in-laws' house one January, I found that using a ballpoint pen for the daily entries and a spiralbound notebook just didn't have the same "feel" to it.... Both emotionally and with the tactile feel of writing....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[GlenV]

 Pens are from the 1920's are the ones I really like, but it's just really fun to write with the "feel" of a (new to me)  pen.. you can often get such a nice one still although a few years ago it was easier. About the 51 the vac ones require more work to use, and getting an aerometric one is still pretty easy that hardly needs anything done to be a daily reliable pen. 

[antares1966]

On 12/19/2023 at 4:40 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

Fountain pens ease hand and arm fatigue, and will improve hand writing if one slows down just a tick.

This exactly is what turned me on to fountain pens.  I’m a hospital based physician and back in the days of paper charts, I would write on the order of 12-14 sides of 8.5 x 11 paper daily.  I found my writing hand got really fatigued and sometimes downright sore having to press down with a ballpoint.  An older colleague of mine had a FP, I honestly don’t know even what it was, but he let me have a go with it once and that was it for me.