Introductory Fountain Pens!

[@saiskanda]

Love it when people make transparent stuff, to me it almost seems like they put so much love and effort into creating it that there is an inherent need to show off how wonderful it is! Atleast to me it seems like that...

[@gene_takavic57]

Yes, keep the pen and pencil videos coming. Handwriting is a fading art, and soon to be lost in this age of digital everything.

[@scose]

whoa i bought this exact pen a couple weeks ago and it's great. Wish the nib was a little more flexible though, hard to get line width variation

[@DaveF.]

Yeah, I couldn't agree more - the 'varsity' - I think is the same as the Pilot V-pen in europe - was a revelation - it just works. Doesn't leave, stays good for months without use without drying out. If they were refillable, they'd practically be perfect.

[@landspide]

It would be great to see a "how to recover you fountain pen if it dries out after not using it for 5 years" type of video :P What I have found is that just spraying the nib on an old rag with demineralised water works really well.

[@FranLab]

Put the nib assembly in a glass of water for a day and then run it under the tap. That's about it...

[@landspide]

@@FranLab Many thanks for the reply, will do!

[@YerUnclePhil]

I just restored a few pens my mother passed down to me. They hadn'tbeen cleaned in 40 years, I used an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with warm distilled water. Took a few water changes, but ended with great results. I keep my older pens, that tend to dry out, in a sealed container with humidity packs or wet paper towel.

[@craigjgiles]

I love my daily drive a TWSBI diamond and I use their filler bottle. Game changing convenience and so smooth even with extra fine NIB

[@fmphotooffice5513]

My fountain pens are special to me. The most worn are two Pentech from the 1980s. My parents gave me a MB Meisterstruk when I finished my BFA. MB Permanent Black is my ink of choice. The best overall performer was an Osmiroid 75 with a regular medium nib. (It was ruined with a solvent a long time ago.) That thing could draw thick Calli ink. It was a joy to write and draw with it.

[@Ra-zor]

While not the pen your reviewing, I just purchased the preppy thanks to this great little video. The spring seal in the lid, and the fact it was still your daily go to after several years were the deciding points for me. I wish more people gave nice quick honest key points like this :) 👍

[@KeritechElectronics]

Easy peasy, fountain pen squeezy! Nice one. Looks like the pen's touchyfeeliness is interesting.

[@DavidFrankland]

ooh nice. I like my Lamy Vista, but I really like the look of this one!

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Nice I love my Pilot pens !

[@Hobbes746]

I love writing with fountain pens. I have a good one that I used throughout my studies for taking notes, no other pen type comes close to how effortless that pen felt to write. (even though, as a leftie, I had to deal with smearing the still-wet ink). But then I started working, in a job were I use a computer all day. And I no longer hand-write enough to keep a fountain pen operational - it’s always gunked up.

[@repeat_defender]

Muji makes a really pleasing fountain pen that’s all aluminum and has a very smooth nib. They’re usually around $15, sometimes they’re a little hard to find. It’s very slender though, might not be comfortable for hands with pain.

[@aguycalledlucas]

It looks like it writes very well

[@Torby4096]

In college, I used Pilot's disposable fountain pens. One day, on Dr. Neblok's class, my pen ran out of ink. "No problem," thought I, "That is why I always carry 2." Not a moment later, this one also ran out of ink. "Oh. Don't by both the same day."

[@cdorcey1735]

"Turning" a couple chunks of wood into a fountain pen (with the metal parts from a kit) is a great little lathe project. Choose wood that you find especially beautiful, or with sentimental value ("from grandpa's shop", or "from the swing tree that came down in the storm"). Any search engine should help you find kits.

[@hotpuppy1]

I used a cheap fountain pen in the 70's in grade school. I remember the old refill cartridges. My dad had a desk set with a fountain pen that had a pump to refill..

[@theronwolf3296]

I've always been frustrated with cartridge loading. It seems that getting a new cartridge started is a lot of trouble, and they don't last all that long. Piston fill (TWSBI makes some moderate priced ones) or ink converter (which can be used with many cartridge pens) is much better. My thinking is that because you're drawing the ink up through the point and flow channels, the fresh ink gets everything flowing properly

[@scottthomas3792]

I have never used a fountain pen...no particular reason, just have never used one. I have used a dip-in-ink type pen..( well, dip in hydrofluoric acid to write on glass...junior high art class project...this was the '70s). Pen and pencil videos don't really sound all that interesting, but they are...Keep on doing them! The " beginner" type such as this one are a good idea, because most people ( like me) really don't have much of an idea about specialized pens and pencils.

[@steviebboy69]

I remember doing the dip in ink pen in the 80's for art, and some kid would always knock the ink bottle over and I think they called it Indian Ink. geez dip the pen in Hydrofluoric acid, isnt that the acid of nightmares?

[@scottthomas3792]

@@steviebboy69 You don't want to get it on you...that part was stressed. The pen was entirely blue plastic, and not easy to write with( it had a guard on it to prevent getting acid on your fingers)but it is cool to watch letters form on glass.You would rinse it off in the sink once the letters formed. A room full of 14 year olds and bottles of acid, but no accidents. There were kits for frosting glass that used some acid...not sure which acid. Used to advertise them on TV, featuring a guy frosting a beer mug.

[@thefloatingrock]

Solid KITH "Daves I Know" energy

[@sambrose1]

I might just have to get one.

[@BretFrohwein]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I wonder what ever happened to my Lamy.

[@thenoblerot]

YES, my favorite Fran Jam ❤ Gonna be verbal ticking 🎸🎶*Time for pens n pencils on a Fran Lab*🎸🎶 allllll day 😆

[@MrDutchino]

Did you already try a Lamy abc? I learned to write with such beginners fountain pen

[@lorensims4846]

I'm surprised that these are referred to as "fountain" pens. When I was first being taught to write cursive in the sixties, we were given "cartridge pens," by Shaeffer, I think, which used ink cartridges that were simple cylinders with a small round perforation on one end to be punctured by the back of the tip. I've always thought of "fountain pens" as bladderless pens, essentially quills, that are dipped in inkwells to re-ink. I'm all about any kind of graphic communications production, whether manual, mechanical, or electric/electronic. Please keep 'em coming!

[@DaveF.]

I think you've got that the wrong way round - fountain pens (originally) were named because of the bladder - you could squeeze the bladder and get a 'fountain' of ink spraying out of the pen for endless fun in the classroom. I also used to have to use cartridge pens at school - I wouldn't call them 'fountain' pens because they didn't really have that ability. Nowadays I'd call any fillable, non-cartrige pen a 'fountain'. These disposable pens are an entirely new concept these days. Wish I had them when I was at school - they're really very, very good.

[@lorensims4846]

Waitaminnit. I didn't mean "bladderless." The "fountain pens" I'm familiar with are high-quality pens with a fixed, internal (non-removable) bladder and a lever or other mechanism to draw ink into the bladder, again, from an ink well. I'm most familiar with this style of pen from mid-century Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Our hero would take one of these pens, use the lever to draw ink into the pen, and then use that same lever to squirt ink into the face of their adversary, hence "fountain pen."

[@DaveF.]

@@lorensims4846 Sorry - I got confused - your OP said fountain pens were bladderless. I quite agree - that above is exactly what I think of 'fountain pens'.

[@lorensims4846]

@@DaveF. Sorry, myself. I misspoke. I never considered using the pen point style to describe the pen like we do with ballpoints and felt tips. ;-) I can't get behind the idea of a "disposable" fountain pen. I thought that was the whole purpose, that it was refillable and reusable. My second post was meant to come directly after the first, but I was out shopping for such a pen. I didn't manage to post it until I got back. Nope, I didn't find any in the stores, but I didn't get as far as Blick Art Supplies either. I just added a Sheaffer pen and blue/black cartridges to my Amazon cart. I saw a Dragnet or Perry Mason years ago that talked about blue/black ink and it fascinates me. When I stocked up on the Uniball Jetstream pens I like, I got them with purple/black ink. I can't find these anymore.

[@blasturd]

Making plans with my special pen...

[@osliverpool]

If anyone asks me to recommend a starter fountain pen, I always suggest a Lamy Safari... with the nibs available for it, it's one of my all-time favourites. And for a good value vintage pen, I still love the Parker 45. It's such a shame I don't get to write so much these days... keyboards, boo!

[@thomasgaliana6288]

Yes, keep them coming.

[@goofyrulez7914]

Do you have any preference in pen material? I personally prefer wooden ones, I just like the feel and weight of them.

[@Donna230]

There's an office supply place near me. I'll see if they have them.

[@beavisrules]

The Japanese stationary stores , the massive ones , like 5 stories of pens. that's my idea of a holiday!. (JUNKUDO in Okinawa , best combination holiday/stationary - they have almost a whole floor on ISO/other standard books!)

[@samallan6616]

The writing point is called the 'nib'.

[@geneard639]

I'm going to say it, I HATE 'introductory' fountain pens. The quality reflects the price, and for me they just seem cheaper than they could be. I grew up in the age where Fountain Pens (notice the capitalization?) were the norm and 'Bic' pens were frowned upon as disposable garbage. So what is my 'Go To' that I recommend for a first pen then? Twisbi Vac Mini easily the best one I've had and I now have several thanks to going back to college. I use Noodler's Inks, Massachusetts 54th Black & Blue is my favorite ink for every day writing using a Fine Nib, and one of Noodler's Electric Eel Inks in a 1.1mm Stub Nib for Highlighting which works GREAT! The Pen itself is comfortable in your hand when the cap is posted or not and I have big hands being 6'4" tall, also the cap posts positively and security unlike the Twisbi Vac 700 which just falls off and just doesn't post the cap at all. So I usually kept the pens in a pen holder, one pen Fine Nib Noodler's Massachusetts 54th Black & Blue, one pen Fine Nib Noodler's Rattle Snake Red, and a 1.1mm Stub Nib with Noodlers Electric Eel Red (shows up as pink) and ...yeah.... they were a joy to use. To this day? I still laugh about my Grandparents constant argument about which institution had the best free ink to use, the Bank or the Post Office. Grandpa said the Bank had the best free ink, and it had a greenish tint to it, and he said 'its money in my wallet!', Grandma said the Post Office had the best free ink, it had a blue tint to it, and she said "its easier to read". Being with them those days they ran errands bout town? Even as a little kid? Still makes me laugh.... Grandpa didn't have no Bank business, Grandma didn't have no mail to send.... but, they still stopped to get the Free ink from the ink pots on the counters.

[@watonwak]

Did it dry out a week later, or is it still good?

[@FranLab]

Still doing well after a week.

[@watonwak]

@@FranLab Thats good to know! thanks Fran!

[@AaronALAI]

Omg Fran okay I just got my new pentel orenz zero yesterday and was looking at fountain pens for a few days. This is perfect timing!

[@thewaythingsare8158]

I got the Kakuno today with gizmo for loading up ink. It's really smooth and is actually better than my Lamy,. Thanks Fran

[@woodenpuppet7568]

The content I crave!

[@Fightosaurus]

Fran is a fountain pen aficionado on top of everything else?!? Huzzah! Highly recommend some Chinese pens like the Asvine V200 for beginners. Quality of these pens is quite solid for 1/10th or less the cost of similar luxury models made elsewhere.

[@billcosgrave6232]

👍