I thought this was ridiculous

[paardvark]

Haha. This thing blew my mind. A whole FORUM dedicated to writing utensils?

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/

[microsoft windows]

I bet they're saying the same thing about us.

[hyperlinked]

Dude, I'm willing to be there are people here who are proud members of both sites. Someone started a thread a ways back on favorite writing instruments and the participation was rather healthy.

[JBert]

Haha. This thing blew my mind. A whole FORUM dedicated to writing utensils?

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/

Stop using those damn cheap Bics and use a more tactile fountain pen. Your hands will thank you.

I wonder if there are some heavy collectors on there who have so much pens and other writing utensils that they have to store it catalogued on shelves.

[Ekaros]

Ok, that is kinda intresting... So pens could cost more than good keyboard...

Thinking of it current keyboard manufacturers/models seem quite limited compared to pens...

[Lanx]

i prefer pencils, i'm not an artist or a 2nd grader, but i prefer to use #2 pencils when i work. All my work is in my own folders and stuff my own business so there's no "ink" requirement i just like the way pencil writes on paper (currently i like grid paper). I use ticonderoga triwrites and like manually sharpening my pencils with a staedler pencil sharpener to get a super fine point.

[Ekaros]

Generaly I only use ballpoints or properlling mechanical pencils
They are just so handy as there is still quite a lot of use for handwriting while getting my education...

Edit: Ah, I also prefer 0.5mm over 0.7mm...

[microsoft windows]

I use decent wood pencils. I've always found the lead in modern-day mechanical pencils breaks too easily. Maybe I'm a little rough with it, I don't know.

[instantkamera]

I think our very own patrickgeekhack is a pen aficionado. A few others as well if I recall.

[microsoft windows]

I'm more of a pencil aficianado. I've got quite a collection of older pencils.

[patrickgeekhack]

I think our very own patrickgeekhack is a pen aficionado. A few others as well if I recall.

LOL. Indeed :-)

[patrickgeekhack]

Dude, I'm willing to be there are people here who are proud members of both sites. Someone started a thread a ways back on favorite writing instruments and the participation was rather healthy.

Count me as one such member :-) Very helpful people there too. The two forums are not that different from each other. Here, we don't really like rubber dome keyboards. There, they (including me) don't like ball point pens.

[patrickgeekhack]

Stab me in the heart will ya?

Show Image

I'm not a big fan of Parker Vecotr, but that Rotring is not an easy one to get.

[wellington1869]

Dude, I'm willing to be there are people here who are proud members of both sites.

erm... *cough*

[patrickgeekhack]

Stop using those damn cheap Bics and use a more tactile fountain pen. Your hands will thank you.

I wonder if there are some heavy collectors on there who have so much pens and other writing utensils that they have to store it catalogued on shelves.

I don't have a huge collection, although some on the fountainpennetwork do. I have:

Modern Pens
- 2 Lamy Safari
- 2 Pelikan
- 1 Waterman Phileas

Vintage
- 1 Mabie Todd Swan Leverless L206/60
- 1 Parker Duofold Junior (English made)

Then there is also: ink and paper.

[patrickgeekhack]

erm... *cough*

Really? I spend most of my time in the penmanship subforum.

[patrickgeekhack]

Haha. This thing blew my mind. A whole FORUM dedicated to writing utensils?

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/

Question: Why did you think this was ridiculous? There are many who think we are ridiculous with our keyboard obssession.

[patrickgeekhack]

Ok, that is kinda intresting... So pens could cost more than good keyboard...

Thinking of it current keyboard manufacturers/models seem quite limited compared to pens...

Pens can indeed cost more than keyboards, epecially some vintage ones and some higher end ones like Pelikan, Mont Blanc, Sailor, etc.

Okay, I'll shut up now because I can go on an on about fountain pens. I think it's safe to say that I enjoy using my pens more than I enjoy using my keyboards.

[paardvark]

Ah man. I don't think anyone got the joke. Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a sarcastic comment, seeing as this is a forum on writing utensils as well. Anyway, I shouldn't be too disappointed, as this turned out to be a rather lively thread anyways.

[wellington1869]

Really? I spend most of my time in the penmanship subforum.

3 sheaffer snorkels. (my favs - masterfully engineered and intricate filler mechanism). Two of which I re-built from scratch with snorkel part pens and hunting around manhattan's many pen shops.

1 namiki vanishing point (retractable). probably my most expensive. navy blue  Great engineering again.

2 Esterbrooks from the '50s (both of which I re-built from part pens. I did find NIB nibs for them). Like them a lot, broad, fat, and historical Americana. Colonel Potter on MASH uses them

2 Parker Rialtos/Place Vendomes. Love the stiff nibs, compact size, and the balance and weight-in-hand is about perfect.

Assorted: Lamy safari, a Cross, a couple of Pilot Customs.

And I recently converted to Noodlers. Never knew ink could make such a difference.

[wellington1869]

Ah man. I don't think anyone got the joke. Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a sarcastic comment, seeing as this is a forum on writing utensils as well. Anyway, I shouldn't be too disappointed, as this turned out to be a rather lively thread anyways.

well it kinda makes sense that anyone who fetishes their keyboard would fetishize all their writing instruments

[wellington1869]

Think i'll go refill my parker right now

[patrickgeekhack]

Ah man. I don't think anyone got the joke. Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a sarcastic comment, seeing as this is a forum on writing utensils as well. Anyway, I shouldn't be too disappointed, as this turned out to be a rather lively thread anyways.

That's the problem with written communication without body language or tone. Sorry to misinterpret what you wanted to achieve.

[wellington1869]

That's the problem with written communication without body language or tone. Sorry to misinterpret what you wanted to achieve.

so true.  Email (and I guess forum/chat posts) are such a poor form of communication. Even in handwriting you can tell so much about the emotion and intent based on the changing handwriting.

I guess thats why emoticons were inevitable. Otherwise all our digital correspondence would simply read like so many western union telegrams.

[patrickgeekhack]

3 sheaffer snorkels. (my favs - masterfully engineered and intricate filling system). Two of which I re-built from scratch with snorkel part pens and hunting around manhattan's many pen shops.

1 namiki vanishing point (retractable). probably my most expensive. navy blue  Great engineering again.

2 Esterbrooks from the '50s (both of which I re-built from part pens. I did find NIB nibs for them). Like them a lot, broad, fat, and historical Americana. Colonel Potter on MASH uses them

2 Parker Rialtos/Place Vendomes. Love the stiff nibs, compact size, and the balance and weight-in-hand is about perfect.

Assorted: Lamy safari, a Cross, a couple of Pilot Customs.

And I recently converted to Noodlers. Never knew ink could make such a difference.

Very nice collection Welly, very nice. I have stopped looking for other pens when I discovered italic nibs.

[wellington1869]

Very nice collection Welly, very nice. I have stopped looking for other pens when I discovered italic nibs.

dip or fill?
which one of your pens do you use most often?

[patrickgeekhack]

dip or fill?
which one of your pens do you use most often?

OP: Sorry to hijack your thread

I don't own any dip pen...for now.

I have one Safari 1.1mm with black ink and a Pelika M205 (0.7mm Richard Binder) with blue ink all the time. I rotate them. When I need to take notes very fast and when handwriting quality does not matter, then I use my Waterman Phileas. I find Waterman Florida Blue to work best for me.  2009 was the year of the keyboard and 2010 was the year of the pen for me. At the end of the day, I am much poorer than I was in January 2009.

[wellington1869]

Then there is also: ink and paper.

I didnt get into penmanship/paper so much (probably because of my "atrocious"* handwriting). For accoutrements I veered towards other paraphernalia -- I have a lovely collection of pen stands and ink wells. Some of the older fancier ones are really works of art unto themselves.


*direct quote from my 3rd grade English teacher. She said it so many times I eventually looked the word up in the dictionary. lol. But yea, my handwriting is awful.

[patrickgeekhack]

I didnt get into penmanship/paper so much (probably because of my "atrocious"* handwriting). For accoutrements I veered towards other paraphernalia -- I have a lovely collection of pen stands and ink wells. Some of the older fancier ones are really works of art unto themselves.


*direct quote from my 3rd grade English teacher. She said it so many times I eventually looked the word up in the dictionary. lol. But yea, my handwriting is awful.

I stayed away from the ink wells and pen stands for I know I would have to file for bankruptcy. I have an acrylic pen stand, that's all.

[wellington1869]

Waterman Phileas.

i had a phileas at one point. I think I bought it at staples of all places. It wasnt bad, writes a little broad. That reminds me, I did go thru a waterman phase at one point, tho I eventually sold them off. I had a couple of Hemisphere models for a while. Nice weight, paint on them scratched easily though.

 At the end of the day, I am much poorer than I was in January 2009.

tell me about it.  I stopped buying fountain pens about the same time I stopped buying keyboards.  Partly cuz I have what I like now, and partly cuz I ran out of money

[patrickgeekhack]

Patrick - the Rotring Art Pen should be available at any Art store - pretty common around here.  It's great for Calligraphy (1.9 and 2.3 for me are my favorites) and my son uses a EF version for sketching - I haven't gotten around to trying different inks with it since the combo of ink/pen works better than others I've tried.

I really to make a trip South of the border, the next time I go to Niagara Falls. Product availability is so much better in the US.

[wellington1869]

writing with fountain pens always reminds me of my grandfather.  he was one of the more sane members of my family, so its a warm and fuzzy memory for me.
he wrote exclusively with fountain pens (he seemed to think the ball point pen was Satan's plan for ruining young peoples handwriting).

[patrickgeekhack]

writing with fountain pens always reminds me of my grandfather.  he was one of the more sane members of my family, so its a warm and fuzzy memory for me.
he wrote exclusively with fountain pens (he seemed to think the ball point pen was Satan's plan for ruining young peoples handwriting).

If you think about it, the ball point pen does hurt handwriting a lot. Some people have been telling me that handwriting is a lost art since we have so many electronic gadgets for that now. I usually reply, that this not totally true. Exams are still being handwritten even at university leve. Now, imagine the person correcting the papers, who have been going through really bad handwriting and then stumbled upon a very well written copy. Even if this student made some mistakes, chances are he/she will be able to get away on some of the mistakes. I used to get a few extra marks because of how I presented my math answers.

[wellington1869]

If you think about it, the ball point pen does hurt handwriting a lot. Some people have been telling me that handwriting is a lost art since we have so many electronic gadgets for that now. I usually reply, that this not totally true. Exams are still being handwritten even at university leve. Now, imagine the person correcting the papers, who have been going through really bad handwriting and then stumbled upon a very well written copy. Even if this student made some mistakes, chances are he/she will be able to get away on some of the mistakes. I used to get a few extra marks because of how I presented my math answers.

do you do calligraphy like on greeting cards?  I always envied people with good handwriting.  I never seemed to have the eye-hand coordination for it, lol.
My sister was the painter, I was the 'musician'.

[Infinite north]

They have the "Clubs, Meetings and Events" section. something that hasn't really been pulled off here yet.

[patrickgeekhack]

do you do calligraphy like on greeting cards?  I always envied people with good handwriting.  I never seemed to have the eye-hand coordination for it, lol.
My sister was the painter, I was the 'musician'.

Not yet. I only started to learn italic this year. Prior to me getting serious with my handwriting, I could never have a consistent handwriting.

Anyone can acquire a good handwriting. You just need to invest the time and patience :-)

[microsoft windows]

I can write good cursive, but my printing isn't the best on the planet.

[patrickgeekhack]

These days it's mainly cards but I used to take notes in Chancerey cursive when I got bored in class.

Chancery cursive is a wonderful stye.

[microsoft windows]

I don't know what style of cursive I write in. It's the kind I learned in school a long time ago. Maybe I'll scan a little bit of it for you all.

[patrickgeekhack]

They have the "Clubs, Meetings and Events" section. something that hasn't really been pulled off here yet.

They have letter exchange too :-) Just like the past when teenagers around the world would use IYS (International Youth Services) to find penpals and exchange letters.

[patrickgeekhack]

I don't know what style of cursive I write in. It's the kind I learned in school a long time ago. Maybe I'll scan a little bit of it for you all.

Please do.

[patrickgeekhack]

OP: I'm really sorry to have hijacked this thread. I feel bad.

[microsoft windows]

Threads on a forum are like conversations. They wander from topic-to-topic and are liquid and flexible on a good forum. Don't feel bad about it.

[microsoft windows]

Well, I scanned a sample of my writing. Here it is:

[patrickgeekhack]

Well, I scanned a sample of my writing. Here it is:

Show Image

I think it's what some call American cursive. I'm no expert though, so I may be wrong. Not bad at all. Very legible and legibility is what should take precedence over everything else.

[instantkamera]

You do NOT want to see my penmanship. Let's just say, there is a reason I hang out on a keyboard forum.

[D-EJ915]

I don't write enough to keep my "skill" high enough, seemed like every time I would have a class with writing I had to get back into the rhythm.

One thing I think reduces the quality more than a bad pen is crap paper, I really loathe crappy paper because you can never make anything work with it.

[microsoft windows]

I actually never use pens for normal writing. I'm a very big fan of pencils. And they got to be good pencils.

[patrickgeekhack]

One thing I think reduces the quality more than a bad pen is crap paper, I really loathe crappy paper because you can never make anything work with it.

True. A good quality paper makes a huge difference.

[patrickgeekhack]

I actually never use pens for normal writing. I'm a very big fan of pencils. And they got to be good pencils.

I can write better with a pencil than a ball point pen. That said, ball point pen will beat a fountain pen hands down when flying.