Hello from Indiana. Joined FPN to help me understand my husband's obsession. Lol

[Plurmph Hamwrangler]

Hello. My husband has been collecting fountain pens for a few years now and his tastes are becoming a bit more decerning with them and I'm beginning to aquire a taste for them aesthetically (I have a heavy hand so writing with one can be difficult). I want to be able to buy him gifts and surprise him without having to ask for links for pens that are to his liking. I know what he likes, but it's the meticulous eye and knowledge of vintage pens that I am oblivious to. He loves vintage, flex nibs. I know some people on here turn their nose up at using the term "wet noodle" but he loves them. I was looking at a vintage esterbrook with a 2048 nib. I previously attempted bidding on a waterman pink keyhole and was sniped at the last second. 

 

If there are any recommendations for super flexible old school pens, please please let me know. All suggestions are welcome. 

Edited June 12 by Plurmph Hamwrangler

[PAKMAN]

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

[jar]

Welcome home.  Pull up a stump and set a spell.

[OCArt]

[Wil D]

Welcome!

[Surlyprof]

Welcome to the group.  I love that someone’s partner would go to this length to learn about and support their interests.  That is truly admirable.

 

21 hours ago, Plurmph Hamwrangler said:

If there are any recommendations for super flexible old school pens, please please let me know. All suggestions are welcome. 

By this do you mean super flexible “old school” pens or old “school pens”?  You will probably get answers about both here.  Welcome to FPN!

[Mark from Yorkshire]

Welcome from West Yorkshire UK. Welcome to our friendly and helpful community 

[inkstainedruth]

@Plurmph Hamwrangler Greetings from Pittsburgh!  

I got my husband (slightly hooked on pens a while back when I found a used Vanishing Point in a store about an hour and a half north of me for 1/3 of the price of a new one.  He now is also borrowing one of my Sheaffer Snorkels, so he can use a different color ink (I told him that just refilling without flushing the pen out between colors/brands was NOT a good idea).  He had me buy him a Lamy Safari last year, but it seems to have gone walkabout (unfortunately, so have some of my pens -- including the Sheaffer Fashion I picked up at an estate sale recently for five bucks, which had the converter already installed and a couple of cartridges of Skrip Black in the bottom of the box.  (Unfortunately, it's really hard to find Skrip converters these days).

I generally suggest that new folks here click on the "New Content" button when they log in, to get a good overview of a range of topics.  And to check out the pinned Index to the Ink Reviews Forum (we live in the Golden Age of Inks, with new companies popping up all over the globe).

But I also warn them that they have found themselves amidst evil enablers, who will happily help them spend their discretionary budgets on pens, inks, paper, desk accessories, repair tools, storage, pen shows and ephemera.....

Have fun here, and remember that there are no dumb questions except the ones that don't get asked.  I'm constantly amazed and humbled but the breadth and depth of knowledge here (and not JUST pen-related at that) and the generosity of the pen community in sharing that knowledge.

I'll admit that "wet noodle" nibs are completely lost on me.  I keep thinking that I should try to learn how to do Spencerian handwriting (in my copious amounts of free time.... ) but in the meantime "nail" nibs work work for me....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Plurmph Hamwrangler]

4 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@Plurmph Hamwrangler Greetings from Pittsburgh!  

I got my husband (slightly hooked on pens a while back when I found a used Vanishing Point in a store about an hour and a half north of me for 1/3 of the price of a new one.  He now is also borrowing one of my Sheaffer Snorkels, so he can use a different color ink (I told him that just refilling without flushing the pen out between colors/brands was NOT a good idea).  He had me buy him a Lamy Safari last year, but it seems to have gone walkabout (unfortunately, so have some of my pens -- including the Sheaffer Fashion I picked up at an estate sale recently for five bucks, which had the converter already installed and a couple of cartridges of Skrip Black in the bottom of the box.  (Unfortunately, it's really hard to find Skrip converters these days).

I generally suggest that new folks here click on the "New Content" button when they log in, to get a good overview of a range of topics.  And to check out the pinned Index to the Ink Reviews Forum (we live in the Golden Age of Inks, with new companies popping up all over the globe).

But I also warn them that they have found themselves amidst evil enablers, who will happily help them spend their discretionary budgets on pens, inks, paper, desk accessories, repair tools, storage, pen shows and ephemera.....

Have fun here, and remember that there are no dumb questions except the ones that don't get asked.  I'm constantly amazed and humbled but the breadth and depth of knowledge here (and not JUST pen-related at that) and the generosity of the pen community in sharing that knowledge.

I'll admit that "wet noodle" nibs are completely lost on me.  I keep thinking that I should try to learn how to do Spencerian handwriting (in my copious amounts of free time.... ) but in the meantime "nail" nibs work work for me....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

He has been collecting for about 5 years now and has throughly explain what inks are okay for him (sheening= good) and which are pen killers (Shimmer =clogged and a bad time). I know I'm safe when gifting him inks. He had atrocious cursive handwriting until he started using fountain pens and now it is some of the most beautiful handwriting i have ever seen. 

He has between 20-30 pens. One he gave to me because it was a BB Pelikan M800 and he is more into the fine tipped nibs. 

For father's day I wanted to spoil him because he let me indulge in building out my garden. I secretly purchased him a waterman 52 red ripple with a flex 2 nib, a Mabie Todd Swan, a hbcr waterman 52 wet noodle, and eisenstadt flex nib pen, a waterman 7 keyhole "Red" nib (because the Pink one was sniped from me) and 3 waterman 2 nibs (heard they were flexy). He is into "frankenpens" that he makes from the working bits of non functioning pens and then hones them to his liking. He has modern pens, but they just don't give him the same satisfaction writing as a 100 yr old pen does. 

Edited June 13 by Plurmph Hamwrangler

[Plurmph Hamwrangler]

13 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

Welcome to the group.  I love that someone’s partner would go to this length to learn about and support their interests.  That is truly admirable.

 

By this do you mean super flexible “old school” pens or old “school pens”?  You will probably get answers about both here.  Welcome to FPN!

Old flexible pens. He pretty much told me that waterman, mabie todd, some conklins were flex back then and not "nails" as I have come to learn the terminology for a hard ridged nib.

[Wahl]

[northstar]

Hello and welcome to FPN.