Hi from the Twin Cities!

September 7, 2024

Hi, I’m new here! I live near Minneapolis, MN. I teach engineering at a local community college. I like Seiko watches (from the 1970s in particular). I use fountain pens daily, and my pens are cheaper models from Sailor, Lamy, Kaweco, Pilot, and Waterman. I also have a cool older Parker 45 that I bought at an antique store and use a lot.

September 7, 2024

September 7, 2024

@PennyTheDog I'm glad you found this cozy part of the internet. Welcome!

I have a Seiko automatic diver's watch that I wear every day. It has been indestructible and I like that the watch face is so easy to read.

September 8, 2024

Aloha @PennyTheDog. I grew up in the Twin Cities (Golden Valley). I miss autumn there, but not the mosquitoes.

Went to college in Wisconsin back in the day when one could find Parkers at a reasonable price at antique stores and even had local shops that replaced the ink sacs. Long time ago. I wish I had purchased more back then, but starving student days

Enjoy FPN. Many nice people her (just like MPLS).

I also like the classic Seikos from the 50s-70s. I only wish there more places to get them overhauled. Even in Japan it is now very expensive (more than the price of those watches). A good Seiko and a Pilot Custom are an excellent pairing.

September 8, 2024

Greetings from Pittsburgh! :W2FPN:

You'll get no argument from me about the merits of "cheaper pens" -- especially from some of the brands you mentioned (my first "good" pen was a Parker Vector, and I now have something like 20 more Vectors besides, including a four nib unit calligraphy set). I now also have a bunch of Lamy Safaris and al-Stars (ironically, all SE pens from various years -- I love the fact that they didn't bump up the price for SE colors). And my first "semi-vintage" pen (and the first one with a 14K nib) is a Parker 45 I found in a little antiques store in butt-nowhere NW PA a number of years ago -- I was so new to FPs at that point that I didn't even know what the model was, until I posted photos of it -- just that it was a Parker....

I generally suggest that new folks click on the "New Content" button when they log in, to get a good overview of a range of topics. And to NOT do what I did when I started -- which was to read the Parker Forum. ALL of it.... (back then, more than a decade ago, it was 175 PAGES of threads -- it's bigger now...). Also, have a look at the pinned Index to the Ink Reviews Forum (we seem to be living in the Golden Age of ink, with new companies popping up all over the globe.

But I also warn them that they have found themselves around a group of shameless enablers, who will happily help them spend their discretionary budgets on pens, ink, paper, desk accessories, repair tools, pen shows, and ephemera....

Have fun here, and don't be afraid to ask questions -- I'm constantly amazed at the wealth of knowledge (and not JUST pen related!) here; and humbled by the generosity of the FPN community in the sharing of that knowledge.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth