Updated my post about the Pilot Custom 823 after trying one with a medium nib: copingmechanism.com/2021/pilo…
@pimoore I know, the tools aren't supposed to matter, but they matter to me a great deal. Plus, I'm having so much fun. :)
@Pilchuck I feel that being a lefty puts me at a significant disadvantage with fountain pens, but I love using them anyway.
@jack I remember the first time I tried a fountain pen and was blown away by how effortless they are to write with, and how little pressure is needed. Then a realization hit me; I was using a tool that scholars and writers used to pen some of the most famous and influential works in human history.
When the tools bring you joy, give yourself permission to enjoy them.
@pimoore I’ve never used a fountain pen but Inwill have to try. I’ve always hated writing with pens because my hand get sore after a while from pressing the ink into paper. Kind of a magical, though, manifesting my thoughts into the material world.
@josephaleo You shouldn’t have to use pressure with a fountain pen, that’s the best thing about them if your hand tends to get tired or sore with regular pens. If you want a great, affordable starter pen I can wholeheartedly recommend the Lamy Safari, which I currently use. There are also some excellent starter pens by Pilot and TWSBI, the latter of which has very affordable piston fillers which are typically only found on more expensive pens.
Edit: Parker Jotter fountain pen is another inexpensive and well reviewed starter.
@pimoore I wonder if there are any dip pen aficionados out there? I've thought that if I was ever moved to get into the fountain pen thing I might just skip straight to dip pens. Possibly my only companion would be Shelby Foote, who wrote the whole of his 3-volume history of the Civil War with a dip pen. Not portable, obviously, but I suspect that a lot of fountain pen users keep theirs pretty close to home anyway.
@Pilchuck It's so nice! Doesn't hurt that the bottle is pretty, either. It was recommended to me by @hjertnes. I also got a Pilot sampler, so I need to write a lot to get to them. The Pilot holds too much ink! :)
@pimoore thanks for the tips. I’ll give it a thought. My friend purchased two old school typewriters last year and loved the experience. I’m hoping to capture the same magic using a fountain pen.
@JMaxB I can’t say I’ve come across any myself, but I’d love to try one out at some point. Agreed that it would obviously be a home-bound pen for the most part, though I suppose there’s nothing stopping you from taking a notebook, dip pen, and bottle of ink to the local café or library (sans covid of course) and scrawling out words. In fact I’m sure it would be quite the conversation starter.
Hmm… 🤔
@JMaxB @pimoore STOP! I was just thinking about dip pens (the glass ones) and now I want to try one. So cool www.youtube.com/watch
@josephaleo Typewriter is another nostalgic writing experience. I have one myself and am planning on doing some visual poetry posts on my blog, along with whatever other ideas come to mind.
@jack Oh no. I had to look at “why use a fountain pen” videos. I do not need another thing to research: youtu.be/KbDSOUoK_...
@twelvety Using a fountain pen is wonderful. Skip too much research and get a cheap Lamy Safari or Pilot Metropolitan and any old ink and decent paper. It's like magic.
@jack Well, I’m sold. We’re going to visit our local pen & paper shop tomorrow and maybe they’ll have one of these. Thanks, Jack! merrymakerpaper.com/products/...
@hjertnes You can get a 3 pack of 15 mL bottles. Here, for example. Not the best value, but great inks, and the bottles are big enough to make filling easy.
@dgreene196 I know, I don't care about cost of ink it's a ridiculous amount of pages per $ no matter what you buy.
When I looked at them last you couldn't pick and had to get pre defined sets