Fountain Pen Users United (FPUU)

Greetings from Gilligan and Walter!

I bring you my newest informal club - Fountain Pen Users United (FPUU). Are there fountain pen users out there? If so, this is the thread for you.

 

My current inventory of fountain pens and ink:

Fountain Pens:
Faber-Castell:

• Basic Black with Leather Covered Barrel Fine Nib

Franklin Christoph:

• B&B Collegia Model 27 Fine Nib and Medium Stub Nib

Kaweco:

• Blue Ice Sport Medium and Extra Fine Nibs

Lamy:

• Safari Charcoal Extra Fine, Fine, and Medium Nibs
• Safari Red Fine and Extra Fine Nibs
• Vista Demonstrator Extra Fine Nib

Levenger:

• True Writer Classic Black Marble Fine Nib
• True Writer Classic with Medium Stub Nib

Monteverde:

• White/Blue Regatta with 1.1 Stub Nib

Nussbaum Pen Co.

• John Ross Series - Black Cherry with Medium Nib

Parker:

• 51 Burgundy

Pelikan:

• M200 Green Marble Fine Nib

Platinum:

• Blue Plasir Fine Nib

Pilot:

• 78G Green Fine Nib

Scheaffer:

• VFM Matte Black Medium Nib

TWSBI:

• Diamond 540 Sapphire Blue Fine and Extra Fine Nibs

Visconti:

• Van Gogh Starry Night Medium Nib

X-Pen:

• XP-123 Gunmetal Fine Nib

Fountain Pen Inks:
De Atramentis:

• Jeans Blue

Diamine:

• Bilberry
• Denim
• Grape
• Oxblood
• Sargasso Sea
• Syrah

Levenger:

• Cobalt Blue
• Raven Black
• Shiraz

Noodlers:

• Benevolent Badger Blue
• Black Swan Australian Roses
• Tiananmen

Private Reserve:

• Avocado

Pilot Iroshizuku:

• Asa-gao Blue

Rohrer & Klinger:

• Bordeaux

Visconti:

• Burgundy

 

Kaweco dia everyday. Noodlers bay state blue. Simply great. Not over the top in any way.

Nice collection

 

I have a number of fountain pens, both vintage & modern. The ones I write with, most often are the Mont Blancs & the Conklins.

 

I have such horrible handwriting (lefty) and write at a crazy angle, I think I'd smear the ink.

 

I mainly use a fountain pen. I have a little more than a dozen:

• Lamy FrankenSafari - stub
• Lamy Vista - stub
• Lamy Al Star - stub
• Pelikan M200 - stub
• Franklin Christoph - cursive italic
• Waterman Phileas - M
• Vintage Sheaffer Roseglow - F
• Vintage Sheaffer Black - F
• Vintage Esterbrooks - SJs, Js and Transitional J
• Conklin
• Various calligraphy sets
• Pilot Parallel set

I have 8 or 10 bottles of ink - Noodlers, Pelikan, Monte Verde, Diamine, Sheaffer, Levenger

I have a lifetime supply of notebooks....
I also have several modern mechanical pencils and use Field Notes notebooks as my daily Bullet Journal.

 

I used a fountain pen for years (old Sheaffer), but got away from using them, for as Kerry mentioned above, they can be problematic for some of us lefties.

Lefties have a challenge, no doubt. Despite years of parochial school nuns attempting to get me to write with my right hand (not happening!) or at least hold the paper in the 'correct' manner, I learned to write going 'uphill'—away from me (see 2nd photo below).

The 'standard' writing angle for lefties - (paper parallel to wrist) intended to minimize the dragging of the hand through the ink/pencil lead.


The 'alternative' writing angle for lefties - (paper perpendicular to wrist). This is the way I write, and yes, it certainly has presented problems for me over the years with techical pens, drafting pencils, charcoal, fountain pens and regular#2 pencils. You wind up dragging your hand through your writing...

 

So do you use a Holy-rollah-ball?

 

Oh geez. How do I always tend to find my brethren, no matter where I roam?

Daily Workhorse - TWSBI 530 Diamond

Rest of the Flock
- Waterman Pro Graduate
- Waterman Expert II
-Sheaffer Imperial IV ca. 1950
- Lamy Safari

Inks (On hand currently):
Noodler's
54th Massachusetts (Current Go-To)
Coleur Royale
Black Swan in Australian Roses
Navajo Turquoise
(drips and dregs of others floating about including the dreaded BSB)

Private Reserve:
Orange Crush
Grey Flanel

J. Herbin
Perle Noir

 

Visconti - I had several of these...the Taj Mahal was my favorite. Had to sell them off due to needing money. I now have only one. I really miss that Taj Mahal.

 

I use one red and one green Parker 21 daily at work. I really enjoy how smoothly they write; better than the 51s in my experience. The green one has the start of a leaking seal somewhere inside but I have no idea how to get it apart to repair it. The red one is holding up great. I've got a few other vintage ones (Scriptos, Esterbrooks, etc) and Chinese Parker knockoffs scattered around. My inks are whatever I've picked up in resale shops: Waterman Tropic Green and Carnation Red; plus some old Skrip.

 

There's something about breathing new life into old stuff that I just like to do. I had a gutted black Ink-D-Cator pen (cap and barrel) that I just discovered threads up perfectly with the business end of a Chinese Parker knockoff. The nib on these knockoffs have a bit of breaking in period but write serviceably enough, and now I've got a pen that looks indistinguishable from the original.

 

Pilot Metropolitan.

 

Today's pen is a Parker Sonnet, filled with blue Quink.

 

THAT is nice! I'll console myself with having enjoyed my red and green 21s today at work.

 

I was given the fountain pen of my late father in law. It is a red lacquered Waterman from the 1980's. Made in France, so an 18K gold nib (14K is not gold in France). I filled it with Waterman Florida Blue, and it is a nice writer.

 

Ooh can you please post a pic?

 

Awesome thread! And yes, I am a fountain pen user, as well as a member of IAMPETH; so I am definitely going to have to get in on this thread. =D

 

If anyone can weigh in- it would be appreciated. I'm currently dithering on buying a Pilot VP or a Lamy 2000. Anyone with experience with either?

 

It is a thin pen, like they were in vogue in the 1980's, but the lacquer is stunning (and pristine), and the nib is very smooth. It is fairly stiff though, so it hasn't got much "give". That is in line with the other modern Waterman pens that I tried in the past.