Geekhack Handwriting Thread and Fountain Pen Thread

[terrpn]

thanks guys...............loving it

[Binge]

thanks guys...............loving it

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This is beautiful :)  Did you keep the stock nib on it or fashion it with something in your archive?  Looks like a lovely writer.

[tigersharkdude]

Im having no luck finding Pilot Varsitys locally . Ive checked; Wal-Mart, Target, OfficeMax, and Staples. I guess I will get some from Amazon next month

[terrpn]

thanks guys...............loving it

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This is beautiful :)  Did you keep the stock nib on it or fashion it with something in your archive?  Looks like a lovely writer.

I am loving the broad you guys ordered on it :p

First steel nib I have ever tried out of the box that is this smooth and wet. Most are sort of dry and you can feel them if you catch my drift...............this one is "quite" smooth.

Goes pretty good with those red, white and blue Binge caps.......'eh?

One of these days I will find a "Patriot Bro" to go with-- that would look awesome :thumb:

[TheAngelicWolf]

This Christmas, I got my first "real" fountain pen. I got a Pilot Metropolitan in black with crocodile accents and a fine nib. Do you guys have any tips for me to improve my handwriting?

[CPTBadAss]

This Christmas, I got my first "real" fountain pen. I got a Pilot Metropolitan in black with crocodile accents and a fine nib. Do you guys have any tips for me to improve my handwriting?

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First off, congrats! I love the Pilot Metro!!

Find handwriting samples in picture or video form. Then see how people form their letters. For example, I grew up with Palmer cursive but I hate how my upper case As and Hs look. I found samples of those letters I like and write it over and over. I practice my handwriting by writing out the alphabet in Nato phonetic alphabet.

Im having no luck finding Pilot Varsitys locally . Ive checked; Wal-Mart, Target, OfficeMax, and Staples. I guess I will get some from Amazon next month

I'll send you a 3 pack. Send me a PM with your info.

[melkenshawn]

Apologies in advance for the photo-heavy post.

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Nakaya Long Piccolo, Shiro-tamenuri, rose gold trim, soft medium reground to a cursive italic

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Lamy Dialog 3, reground to a medium stub

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Sheaffer Targa 1005 (gold fluted), reground to a medium

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Pilot Vanishing Point, blue carbonesque, reground to a fine cursive italic

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Nakaya Naka-ai, Aka-tamenuri, music nib

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Wahl-Eversharp Skyline, Doctors Tribute Pen, reground to a medium cursive italic

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Mont Blanc 149, vintage circa 1960s, fine nib

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Omas 360, 75th Anniversary, reground to a fine cursive italic

I omitted some of the pictures, but you can find the rest on my Flickr!

Wow the venerable Nakaya pens. Are they really nice to write with? How much did you pay for them? Last of all, out of the entire bunch, which is your favorite writing pen?

[do_Og@n]

This Christmas, I got my first "real" fountain pen. I got a Pilot Metropolitan in black with crocodile accents and a fine nib. Do you guys have any tips for me to improve my handwriting?

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Only tip I can give you is....practice. I've also looked at samples and just messed around but the best way is to put pen to paper.

[terrpn]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

[Binge]

I really want to show my collection of ink, but I have to use all of them before I can really showcase what I've got.

Still writing every day.  There are times I can see the improvement, and others where I wonder what I'm spending my time to accomplish.

Adding some of my daily writing.  Todays subject opinions on FPs/writing,

[BlueNalgene]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

The strong Americana styling of your pen curio and surroundings deviates strongly from what I assume all members of the forum are like.  Not trying to be a ****, just an observation that caught me a bit off guard.

[terrpn]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

The strong Americana styling of your pen curio and surroundings deviates strongly from what I assume all members of the forum are like.  Not trying to be a ****, just an observation that caught me a bit off guard.

ask me if I care...........

i am a proud American Patriot who was injured while on active duty in military service to my country and I am neither ashamed or feel need to apologize that I bleed red, white and blue

I carry those wounds with me still today and would do it over again if need be

[sethk_]

My wonderful handwriting comparable to a 5th graders

[iri]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

The strong Americana styling of your pen curio and surroundings deviates strongly from what I assume all members of the forum are like.  Not trying to be a ****, just an observation that caught me a bit off guard.

[TheAngelicWolf]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

The strong Americana styling of your pen curio and surroundings deviates strongly from what I assume all members of the forum are like.  Not trying to be a ****, just an observation that caught me a bit off guard.

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Oh damn, I just noticed the fountain pen  :p

[Binge]

[BlueNalgene]

not really handwriting, but one of my fountain pen displays.............

The strong Americana styling of your pen curio and surroundings deviates strongly from what I assume all members of the forum are like.  Not trying to be a ****, just an observation that caught me a bit off guard.

ask me if I care...........

i am a proud American Patriot who was injured while on active duty in military service to my country and I am neither ashamed or feel need to apologize that I bleed red, white and blue

I carry those wounds with me still today and would do it over again if need be

Well shoot, I wasn't even thinking about that.  I was talking about the New England style wood carving and the choice of oval picture frames.  The last thing I want to do is start a ****storm here.

[Jixr]

I'm not a pen guy or a collector, but generally I just like well designed things that last for years, and I found a rotring pen on ebay that i'm goingt o try to win, $100-130 for a pen is kinda crazy though, espc. since I generally just use fine point sharpies to write with.

[Binge]

I'm not a pen guy or a collector, but generally I just like well designed things that last for years, and I found a rotring pen on ebay that i'm goingt o try to win, $100-130 for a pen is kinda crazy though, espc. since I generally just use fine point sharpies to write with.

I love fineliners.  Various pens can actually achieve similar results without being as wasteful.  Personally I enjoy refillable pens because it further distances me from a disposable mindset.

[Skuloth]

I'm not a pen guy or a collector, but generally I just like well designed things that last for years, and I found a rotring pen on ebay that i'm goingt o try to win, $100-130 for a pen is kinda crazy though, espc. since I generally just use fine point sharpies to write with.

I love fineliners.  Various pens can actually achieve similar results without being as wasteful.  Personally I enjoy refillable pens because it further distances me from a disposable mindset.

While they are disposable, I really like hitec-c ink cartridges. I bought myself a titanium body for them, and have been using that pen almost exclusively over the last several months.

[terrpn]

 

[Jixr]

Whoo!

I just won a used rotring 600 pen off ebay for $85.

Super excited about it. I have one of the pencils, but would love a pen to match with it.

I still want to try out some fountain pens though.

[nandop]

I enjoy handwriting too!

I was studying Differential Equations and had a test 30 minutes prior to this picture and I was rushing like crazy. I did this problem so many times that this one came out almost without mistakes. Once I was done, I was so proud I took this picture. haha This is a differential equation being solved using power series.

That is a Uni-ball Kuru Toga .5mm mechanical pencil.

Oh I almost forgot! I bought a Pentel Metropolitan medium nib and it branches like crazy with their ink. I'm going to get a fine nib soon, but are there any inks that are thick or that doesn't go super fuzzy around the edges?

[terrpn]

that is some serious handwriting bro

thanks for sharing and keep it up

[nandop]

that is some serious handwriting bro

thanks for sharing and keep it up

Thank you!   

[CPTBadAss]

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I enjoy handwriting too!

I was studying Differential Equations and had a test 30 minutes prior to this picture and I was rushing like crazy. I did this problem so many times that this one came out almost without mistakes. Once I was done, I was so proud I took this picture. haha This is a differential equation being solved using power series.

That is a Uni-ball Kuru Toga .5mm mechanical pencil.

Nice handwriting!

Oh I almost forgot! I bought a Pentel Metropolitan medium nib and it branches like crazy with their ink. I'm going to get a fine nib soon, but are there any inks that are thick or that doesn't go super fuzzy around the edges?

J Herbin inks have been very well behaved for me. Same thing with Diamine. If you have the budget, the Pilot Iroshizuku inks are nice. But I would pick an ink from J Herbin or Diamine and write on heavier weight papers. You're seeing fuzzy-ness because the paper you're writing on is absorbent. So you can go with finer tips to try and solve the issue if you don't want to change what paper you're using.

Wow the venerable Nakaya pens. Are they really nice to write with? How much did you pay for them?

I think the one that I have cost $400. They are solid daily writers in my opinion. A very hard gold nib though.

[Binge]

Whoo!

I just won a used rotring 600 pen off ebay for $85.

Super excited about it. I have one of the pencils, but would love a pen to match with it.

I still want to try out some fountain pens though.

That sounds awesome.  I read that you like well made machines?  Check out the Conid pen.  http://www.conidpen.com/

[nandop]

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I enjoy handwriting too!

I was studying Differential Equations and had a test 30 minutes prior to this picture and I was rushing like crazy. I did this problem so many times that this one came out almost without mistakes. Once I was done, I was so proud I took this picture. haha This is a differential equation being solved using power series.

That is a Uni-ball Kuru Toga .5mm mechanical pencil.

Nice handwriting!

Oh I almost forgot! I bought a Pentel Metropolitan medium nib and it branches like crazy with their ink. I'm going to get a fine nib soon, but are there any inks that are thick or that doesn't go super fuzzy around the edges?

J Herbin inks have been very well behaved for me. Same thing with Diamine. If you have the budget, the Pilot Iroshizuku inks are nice. But I would pick an ink from J Herbin or Diamine and write on heavier weight papers. You're seeing fuzzy-ness because the paper you're writing on is absorbent. So you can go with finer tips to try and solve the issue if you don't want to change what paper you're using.

Wow the venerable Nakaya pens. Are they really nice to write with? How much did you pay for them?

I think the one that I have cost $400. They are solid daily writers in my opinion. A very hard gold nib though.

Thank you! I got a fine nib from mass drop now, same pen. I'll get a more expensive one once I graduate. :D

That is awesome! Would you mind sharing which model/maker it is?

[Skuloth]

Whoo!

I just won a used rotring 600 pen off ebay for $85.

Super excited about it. I have one of the pencils, but would love a pen to match with it.

I still want to try out some fountain pens though.

That sounds awesome.  I read that you like well made machines?  Check out the Conid pen.  http://www.conidpen.com/

I want one but 370 euros

[nandop]

Whoo!

I just won a used rotring 600 pen off ebay for $85.

Super excited about it. I have one of the pencils, but would love a pen to match with it.

I still want to try out some fountain pens though.

What's so special about that pencil that satisfies for its cost?

[Jixr]

nothing really, its just a brass machined mechanical pencil.

Though I work in architecture, so a good pencil is a really nice thing to have on hand. My boss is one of those old guys who will shame if you if you don't always have a pen on hand.

The pencils are only $30 on ebay, but the pens were discontinued a long time ago, and so have a high cost on ebay.


I just OCD a bit about things, and when I find something I like, I prefer to have my things matching. So having a matching pen and pencil will be awesome. I don't really make much money to spend on luxury items such as this, but lately i've gone a bit hipster and have been looking to basically buy high quality items that last years vs modern cheap disposable things ( ex: a safety razor for shaving, good pens/pencils, a nice leather office bag vs a cheap nylon one from office stores, keyboards, etc )

Typically I usually just write with fine tip sharpies though.

The thing that keeps me from buying a fountain pen is how fat they are. I prefer skinny pens and pencils.

[nandop]

nothing really, its just a brass machined mechanical pencil.

Though I work in architecture, so a good pencil is a really nice thing to have.

The pencils are only $30 on ebay, but the pens were discontinued a long time ago, and so have a high cost on ebay.


I just OCD a bit about things, and when I find something I like, I prefer to have my things matching. So having a matching pen and pencil will be awesome.

Typically I usually just write with fine tip sharpies though.

The thing that keeps me from buying a fountain pen is how fat they are. I prefer skinny pens and pencils.

Thanks! I might get one.

[Jixr]

EDIT: sorry, the pencils are $30 on amazon, the ones on ebay are usually ones from the 80-90's that have slightly different logos, but are otherwise the same.

[BlueNalgene]

A fun sampling of my daily tasks and notes to self.



Contains multiple writing utensils (black text is daily driver fountain pen, bold is calligraphy marker, pencil is pencil), multiple languages (Russian), writing styles (cursive, Title Case, chicken scratched dimensions), and doodles.

[CPTBadAss]

What's so special about that pencil that satisfies for its cost?

The Rotring 600 is a drafting pencil and I used to work in drafting. The tip is very solid and doesn't wobble so you can get straighter lines. The weight of the pencil means you get a consistent line. And the tip design is such that if you use straight edges or other tools with the pencil, you get a true line around that tool. They're great tools. I've got a .6mm and .8mm.

Thank you! I got a fine nib from mass drop now, same pen. I'll get a more expensive one once I graduate.

That is awesome! Would you mind sharing which model/maker it is?

My Nakaya Briarwood.


For a Christmas gift, my sister made me a carrying case for my little collection. Check it out (album of its creation can be seen by clicking on the picture below)



Binge was also kind enough to send me this this gift. He even lifts!




I also took a little time to check out the Mont Blanc Boutique, Cartier, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton in NYC to see what fountain pens they had to offer. Here's some pictures of my favorite. The Hermes Nautilus. Oh and some pictures of one of the Hermes exclusive inks.






And for fun, here's some ink swabs. The pink text is my normal handwriting. It's Pilot Iroshizuku Kosumosu that Bertram's Inkwell gave away .




Someone asked how I improve my handwriting? Here I **** up the lower case k in quickly and practice writing it correctly. I'm trying to move away from that loop which I dislike. It looks silly.

[terrpn]

Awesome post dude and love the case

[Jixr]

Whoo! got my pens in!

A original rotring 600 pen ( in the same style as the pencils ) And I love it. Its black, and has been well used, but aside from a little brass showing on a edge here and there, its in great shape. ( and I got it for about half of what new ones go for on ebay ) I also ordered a new 600 pencil to match it. 

The other is a bigger rotring 600 pen, and due to a mis-label on ebay, I got it for only $25, and they sell on there often for $120+

I kinda like it, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or possibly flip it and buy myself a new 600 pen.

Never thought i'd spend lots of money on pens.

[Skuloth]

Whoo! got my pens in!

A original rotring 600 pen ( in the same style as the pencils ) And I love it. Its black, and has been well used, but aside from a little brass showing on a edge here and there, its in great shape. ( and I got it for about half of what new ones go for on ebay ) I also ordered a new 600 pencil to match it. 

The other is a bigger rotring 600 pen, and due to a mis-label on ebay, I got it for only $25, and they sell on there often for $120+

I kinda like it, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or possibly flip it and buy myself a new 600 pen.

Never thought i'd spend lots of money on pens.

I feel that way about a lot of my hobbies. Self control is hard.

[Jixr]

Rotring rapid pro ( it sucks ) amazon, $30
600 pencil .7mm ( its awesome ) amazon $30
600 pen ( pilot g2 refils fit it )its awesome, $25 ebay
and my 600 pen, a bit rough but not bad, and i love it $85 ebay.

[CPTBadAss]

What do you find different between the rapid pro and 600 jixr? I didn't know the rapid pro was a thing until recently and I'm curious.

[Jixr]

Its not a bad pen by any means, its just not a $30 pen.
( at least compared to a $30 600 pencil )

The 600 has nice cut edges, and the rapid is more round.
The 600 is all metal, but the rapid has plastic screw threads.
The clicker part is really wobbly ( a pilot G2 feels more solid )

Its kind of a cheap pen disguised as an expensive one.
I'd pay $15 for it and be happy, but at $30, it was kind of a
"I don't like it, but don't hate it enough to return it"

Though it does use parker refills, the grip is nice, It looks nice, weight is good and balanced, but it just lacks that machined precision that the 600 series has. The nice edges, the solid build and precision is what made me love the 600 pencil, and end up spending all this money on pens, and I'm not a collector or a writer or anything like that. I just like well made things.

[genkidama]

Hey guys, I was kinda nostalgic and searched a bout around and found the fountain pens. My parents had two of those but unfortunately they broke and as I was young and my father said it was not possible to repair them we threw them away. But I would want to have one again, as writing with it was like being on cloud 7 for me. So could you help a brother out? I'm not sure what you guys need to get started. So I'll give some basic info and wait what you'll need more to know to give me an recommendation.
- I'm a left-hander (so I guess I need a fine nib and some ink that can dry up quicker so that I don't wipe it along the paper with my hand)
- I searched a bit and it seems a Pilot Metropolitan Fine Nib would be good and not too expensive.
- I dont want to go over 50€. If it is to be below that and I still can get a good pen, I'd go for that instead as I want to minimize my investment if the fountain pens are not meant to be for me besides the one I had in my childhood (Unfortunately I'm kinda picky regarding certain things).
- As I'm residing in Germany I'd like to minimize shipping cost as much as possible. I found some fountain pens via eBay but the shipping cost were sometimes almost the smae what the pen would cost.

[] I also wanted to know if the fountain pens are very sensible if I travel with them in my bag? Do I need to take care of them or is it alright to put them in a case and put the case into my bag?

P.S.: Unfortunately I don't know what kind of pen I had back in my childhood, I only know that it had a lot of engravings on the body and nib, it was completely gold (probably only covered with gold) except the nib thingy (I don't know the exact word for this). I moved from Kazakhstan to Germany maybe it is some kind of "speciality" from Russia/Russian Federation to distinguish it more easily (?). It's possible that this could be some kind of graduation gift you get after college as these pens (I had two) were from my parents. Maybe with the help of you we can conclude what was the name and if it is still purchasable
The engravings looked a little bit like this I found while browsing the net.

[terrpn]

I'll let some of the others comment on which fountain pen as most of mine are vintage-- anything Pilot is a good choice though

Some of the Chinese pens like Hero, Jinhao, Duke, etc. can be nice and picked up on the cheap.

Being a left hander regardless you should invest in some fast drying ink. What some left handers I have seen do is have another sheet of paper under their hand when writing so as not to smear what they previously wrote as your hands can sweat.

Not sure how old your parents are, whether the pens were bought by them, given, etc., but being they were filigree at least here in the US they would generally be Waterman. Pretty much all pen manufacturers made some sort of ornate, gold plated, silver fountain pens, but like I said Waterman probably made the most and are the most common. I am not very familiar with Russian pens, but know a lot were knock offs.

Most of us these days keep our pens when we are traveling in some sort of pen case.

Hope this helps........

[genkidama]

anything Pilot is a good choice though
[...]
Hope this helps........

This helps, thanks!

Some of the Chinese pens like Hero, Jinhao, Duke, etc. can be nice and picked up on the cheap.

I've looked into some of the chinese pens, but actually I don't know what to look for and what to look at to decide if that's a good pen or not. Would be sad to buy one and than he will be not really good with the ink coming out of the nib. I'm not looking for totally cheap pens, but affordable within a reasonable price range for a "starter" I'd say. Especially as I've seen here in this thread there are very expensive fountain pens available, but damn they look so fine

Not sure how old your parents are, whether the pens were bought by them, given, etc., but being they were filigree at least here in the US they would generally be Waterman. Pretty much all pen manufacturers made some sort of ornate, gold plated, silver fountain pens, but like I said Waterman probably made the most and are the most common. I am not very familiar with Russian pens, but know a lot were knock offs.

I'm not sure either how they got them, I'll ask them tomorrow to give more hints. I've come across Waterman while researching and they do look similar, just like in the picture I posted. Maybe we can narrow it down a bit more

Most of us these days keep our pens when we are traveling in some sort of pen case.

And if the bag with the pen case is being "thrown" a bit, like when you come home and take off the bag and you don't put it down carefully. Will this damage a fountain pen within a pen case?

Good night :]

[hwood34]

And if the bag with the pen case is being "thrown" a bit, like when you come home and take off the bag and you don't put it down carefully. Will this damage a fountain pen within a pen case?

not if it's a good case

[genkidama]

And if the bag with the pen case is being "thrown" a bit, like when you come home and take off the bag and you don't put it down carefully. Will this damage a fountain pen within a pen case?

not if it's a good case

Sounds good to me, as sometimes I forget that I have sensitive stuff in my bag.

For the Waterman pens, I guess they are too expensive for me. I've looked some up randomly, seems to be in a price range of ~150$

[Jixr]

Some better photos of my pens!

I'm probably going to sell the fat silver one to buy another skinny one, or may just keep it and buy a new old stock black one on ebay, but they are not cheap at all. ( just as expensive as the fountain pens )


It uses Pilot G2 style refils, so I'm using 1mm bold refill and it fits the pen quite well. Its in pretty good shape, the only damage being a bit of paint flaked off the grippy part on the back of the pen.


My 600 pen, and I absolutely love it. Its pretty beat up. Not damaged, but you can tell its been well used, lots of brass poking out behind the black paint.
Really want to get a new one, but man, they are so expensive.

[Jixr]

I totally YOLO'd and bought a new in box 600 pen. Gonna store it away until the one I have either dies breaks or whatever.

That way I can have a nice one, and a beater one to carry around and use every day.

[Binge]

[CPTBadAss]

Hey guys, I was kinda nostalgic and searched a bout around and found the fountain pens.

<snip>

Hey! If you're in Germany, I highly suggest looking into picking up a Lamy or Kaweco. They should be plentiful and relatively easy to find. Plus they're affordable. Get the finest nib you can and I would suggest picking up Pelikan Edelstein ink, which is what most people say is the driest ink, so hopefully you get fast drying times. I really like the Kaweco Classic Sport and Lamy Safari.