For any one pleasurable tool or object that existed in the past, there are now gazillions.
And so it is with Fountain Pens.
There used to be "A cup of coffee". Now, well, do you remember the scene in You've Got Mail where Nora Ephron inserts a little essay: "The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee..."
I love drawing & writing with fountain pens & now I'm learning to hand letter and to practice my penmanship.
I love the mechanics of fountain pens, the care & cleaning of fountain pens, the memories of my father's & my grandmother's fountain pens. I love the memory of my own first fountain pen. With the Schaeffer Cartridge Pen I only had to decide on a translucent color for the barrel (red, yellow, blue, green or clear). Blue or blue-black ink. The simplicity!
These days I spend a lot of time looking at varieties, varieties & more varieties. There's a whole vocabulary in "The Fountain Pen Community": "Piston filler", "converter", "hard starts", "work horse pens", "wet writers", "holy grail pens", "feedback"... There are conventions, penmasters, online "Rock Stars" (Brian Goulet, you know who you are), reviews, comparisons, instructional videos...
Bricks & Mortar pen stores are scarce. I've been known to travel to Boston to The Bromfield Pen Shop just so I can actually hold & try a pen before buying it.
There is a site called The Pen Habit, another called the Pen Addict. I've learned online that there are people who own hundreds of pens. There are pens that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
I try to keep my pen "hobby" manageable, but the pens online do call to me, with their pretty colors & smooth flowing inks. And, as with so many products now, there is the promise that there is one more pen out there that will be even more perfect than any I own... that sparkling new pen that will change my life forever!
For other posts I've made that include pens, click on the label, "fountain pens".
oh my gosh I also have a passion for fountain pens and quill pens! I had an old one of my Grandfather's but I lost it at a sketching group ( it disappeared from our table ),,,but I have a couple of pens I have bought, nothing to compare of the quality of my Grampa's but still I love them, someday I hope to have the one I dream of lol, I know I will!! I love your sketch, it colourful and lovely!
ReplyDeleteFrom one pen lover to another......I get it.
ReplyDeleteAs a left-hander, I avoid fountain pens or "wet writers" and prefer the quick drying pens but I,too love pens and al the lovey colors (of ink) now available....Fountain pens always conjure up the nightmare (for me and other left-handers) of having to write in Palmer penmanship in 3rd and 4th grade and doing push/pulls and ovals!!!
ReplyDeleteMoi aussi, love those fountain pens, including the ones I've learned about from you.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I wish I had my grandmother's and my father's pens...Sorry you lost your Grandfather's pen, but you have the memories of it and of him, yes?...My favorites: a Parker, a Pelikan and Lamy...
ReplyDeleteGinny, For lefties, one can find quicker drying fountain pen inks and finer nibs are better. Smudging is a drag, I know. My trick: put blotting paper over what was previously written...Me, I adore Palmer pensmanship and loved it from day one! Today, we use keyboards, but there are those Pen Geeks who are keeping the tradition alive...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind note. I've been following your wonderful blog for a long time now. I LOVE your spontaneous sketches .. they make me smile!!! Thank you for the enjoyment they bring!
ReplyDeleteThis is a post I should share with Rick. He has always loved fountain pens and when we were in England spent a great deal of time at just about any department store we were in (well, close!) looking at them. I could have tried on a whole wardrobe while he was doing that (but didn't!). He ended up talking me into getting him a Montegrappa pen at Harrod's for Christmas (and you can bet I didn't let him have it a day before!). It writes like a dream and he has been busy writing thank you notes for all the nice folks who brought food and such during his "confinement." He loves it so much that we gave Kevin a fountain pen (a little less pricey), ink and good paper for his MBA graduation. I hope Kevin uses it a lot. He got Kevin's from a company called Goulet and they packaged it with a personal handwritten note to Kevin and a note about the packing. Rick said it was one of his best buying experiences ever. I love your pen sketches. I had never thought about using them to draw! Duh!
ReplyDeleteRita I hear you friend...I always am looking for a new pen. Now you have went and done it because I am going to have to visit those sites you mentioned on line. There is something just delightful about a lovely pen...especially those fountain ones. Your sketch is wonderful friend. Thanks too for stopping to visit me (I am not a mom either except to some four legged critters - not sure that counts :)!! Hugs
ReplyDeleteJeanie, yes Goulet Pens is my favorite site and they are so personal with a good ethic and customer kindness. And their videos are soooo entertaining! They even do little skits...that's where "Rock Star Brian Goulet" comes from, mentioned in my post. I would love to know which Montegrappa pen Rick loves and which one he chose for Kevin and which good paper...Oh, I am quite obsessed...Now I have a motivation to go to London: Harrod's, haha!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see Rick walking and the 2 of you enjoying the springtime...You gather so many lovely visual images each day!
Wonderful -- love the colors too!
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling I could really "get into" fountain pens--they are so pretty. I already have two, as a matter of fact--one I bought in England 25+ years ago, and one was a gift. I have so far resisted visiting any fountain pen sites or online groups, though I do receive the Goulet pen newsletter. I think for now I'm better off enjoying other people's fun with pens!
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