Fountain pen, someone?

Fountain pen, someone?

  • Fountain pen

    Votes: 212 70.0%

  • Roller

    Votes: 33 10.9%

  • Computer

    Votes: 38 12.5%

  • I do not write

    Votes: 5 1.7%

  • Others

    Votes: 15 5.0%
  • Total voters
    303
Pelican, Omas, Aurora, Montegrappa, and Parker (51 and 61) fountain pens as well as an orange Aurora roller ball and Rotring mechanical pencil and pen. Have several older Cross pens and also use good ol' Pentel 9mm mechanical pencils at work.
 
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Lamy 2000, old tortose shell Parker (can't recall the model), and Lami Logo, and more ink than I'll probably need for the next 10 years.
 
Pelikan bought 25 years ago, just "run in "
Some legal documents in Scotland must be completed and signed in black ink.
Ball point etc not acceptable.
 
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love fountain pen!

Mont Blanc 100 years Anniversary (M) + Kaweco Sport Luxe (M) + and a few Lamy and Rotring.

interesting to see rangefinder-er also enjoy using FP! :)
 
semilog said:
You just have to find the right inks and nibs.

I'm also a southpaw, and find the Japanese pens to be perfect. The two Pilot/Namiki pens (a Vanishing Point, carbon fiber blue just like ederek's pen, and a Namiki Falcon) that I have are wonderful. Both have Namiki medium-size nibs, which on a European or American pen would be a fine-size. These Namiki pens work so well for my hand that I'll likely never buy another brand of fountain pen. My mom, who is a trained calligrapher and a southpaw, was simply in awe when she tried the Falcon out. It's her favourite (round-nib) pen ever and I'll have to get her one so she won't steal mine. I like both of these pens a LOT more than any Mont Blanc or Pelikan or Parker that I've personally used. YMMV, of course.

The salient features for a lefty are relatively low ink flow (to speed drying) and high flexibility (for smoothness, even when writing on a push rather than pull stroke).

The Noodlers Legal Lapis ink works well for me, and the Namiki blue and black inks write even better, although they are less water-resistant. Other Noodlers inks that I've tried don't dry fast enough for this lefty to avoid the dreaded smear.

I also have about a dozen different 0.7 mm mechanical pencils (Pilot, Pentel, Steadtler), all filled with Pilot HB lead. Jetpens.com is a great place to get all of this stuff, though they admittedly don't have the best prices.
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Very cool. I will have a look. Thanks!
 
Started to collect them for a bit, but then realized it was one too many hobbies. So I sold all but three - two of which, I love.
1. black Visconti Opera that I picked up while on a trip to Florence about 6 years ago.
2. blue and silver Parker Vacumatic from the 40s.

I don't write particularly well with either. But I do love the idea of them.
 
Freakscene said:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19933&highlight=moleskine+fact&page=4

I still use a 0.35 mm Rotring Rapidograph.
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Haha! :D:D:D

I used one of those through much of grad school and college. Also used to have one of the twist-to-fill Rapidograph fountain pens, with that same tip. Fantastic pen and I haven't had one in hand in years. I tried to buy another at the 'bay a couple of years ago but the bidding pattern smelled of scam and I stopped trying to get one.
 
I use them daily for almost everything. My preference is for flexible nibs, so I use 2 Namiki Falcons (M and F), as well as a Waterman 52. The humble Waterman from the 1920s has THE SMOOTHEST, MOST FLEXIBLE #2 nib I've ever used. You can go from hairlines to very, very wide lines with this one. The ink flow will keep up. I tried one of the Noodler's Eternal inks and the Waterman hated it (irregular flow, and blobbing) - but it loves Shaeffer's black.

Other daily users in my briefcase are a Pelikan 250 (has a nice 14K M nib), Lamy Safari in M and F tips, a Parker 180 in stainless steel (B and F tips in one pen), and a Parker or Cross ball point.

Traditional inks will wash off easily, but the new Noodler's Bulletproof or Eternal inks chemically react with the cellulose fibers of the paper. You literally cannot wash these inks off. The only way to destroy the writing is to destroy the paper. Ball point inks on the other hand wash off readily with acetone. A point to remember when writing checks.
 
This reminds me of a scene from the play "Doubt", set in 1964, in a Catholic school. The school principal, Sister Aloysius Beauvier was puritannical, and disliked the modern because of the potential abuse that can arise from their 'ease' in use. Ball point pens were among them. The following is a quote from one scene, a dialogue between Sr. Aloysius and Sr. James, a young teacher:

-A ballpoint pen.


-The students are not using them
for assignments, I hope.


-No, of course not.


-I am sorry I allowed even
cartridge pens into this school.

Always easy way out, these days.

Every easy choice today
will have its consequence tomorrow.



- Mark my words.
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What would Sister Aloysius say about digital cameras now, if she had been around today? :)

I'm into fountain pens and dip pens too. I even use (not on fountain pens though) a mediaeval ink made from bark tannin and iron sulphate, with some stuff like gum and sugar added. :)

I like the Parker 75, and the various Chinese copies it inspired. Yes, even pens, like cameras, get to be copied in China.
 
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Left handed with extrafine nibs. Never liked the look of the older left handers writing with their sickle-posture so I just decided to write from underneath. No big deal.
 
semilog said:
Haha! :D:D:D

I used one of those through much of grad school and college. Also used to have one of the twist-to-fill Rapidograph fountain pens, with that same tip. Fantastic pen and I haven't had one in hand in years. I tried to buy another at the 'bay a couple of years ago but the bidding pattern smelled of scam and I stopped trying to get one.
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You can still buy them new, just not in the USA (since 2005).

I have a bunch of vintage Auroras, and crow quill pens for art work. But it's the Rotring for everyday use.

Marty
 
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Nice to see so much answers with Pelikans and Sailors. I mostly use Watermans (well... I live in France). For daily use: a Waterman Carene (fine nib, Waterman Havana ink), at home: Montblanc Starwalker (black ink), Waterman CF (Waterman South Sea ink) and Waterman Hemisphere (Herbin Violette Pensée ink). My favorite in the Waterman CF but surrely will buy a Pelikan M400/405 one day.
 
Montblanc Starwalker 100years (medium), Sailor Pro-Gear with music nib and Filcao Columbia with Richard Binder medium stub nib are in my briefcase / pocket all the time. I adore fountain pens! There's nothing that comes even close to them in feel. Besides I love the line my pens draw and so do people receiving my notes :) OH what inks people use here? I love pilot iroshizuku series (I own a dozen or so of them). They simply pop straight up from the paper! One of my favorites is kiri-same which is grey, sort of dull, but has loads of character. I only use it with stubs or flex nibs since it needs bit more life to it then straight even line provides but when it works it's amazing. yu-yake is also great, bright color that really makes you seen :)
 
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