Hand Written Correspondance

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by Chuck Naill, Sep 14, 2019.

  1. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    I use fountain pens for all my writing except when I travel. I have 8 pens. Every year our company selects our 15 best employees and takes them on a trip. They get to bring one guest, usually a spouse or parent and we get first class hotels and travel in business. I write each winner a personal letter in Korean on special stationary. I give some personal anecdotes, why the person won and thank their spouse or parent.

    We then seal the letters with wax and have them in their hotel rooms waiting for them the first day. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, I am told many frame the letters. I did this at my last company and one employee has won the award at both the old and new company. His wife said they framed the first letter and it is in his parents home.

    I think a hand written letter shows sincerity and effort.

    I have several colors and my initials are in a scroll pattern too.

    The ink I find the best, i.e. least troubles and easiest to load are Iroshizuku and Lamy. The inks are excellent quality and the bottle designs are excellent. Bottle design is very important to making loading easy. Both of the brands are designed so the are easy to load from day 1 until their last drop.

    Lamy makes an excellent basic pen, I highly recommend them.
     
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  2. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

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  3. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    I've taken several pages of copy paper and practiced the alphabet. If I am watching a program on my favorite Britbox, I will write a line the actors say. For me to write well I need to go slow and know what I am going to say.

    For me the most important element in using a fountain pen is the nib. Since I use old pens that I have restored, the nib can be damaged or filthy. Replacement Esterbrook nibs are amazingly still available. I've invested in as many 9000 series I can find for decent prices. That said, I like a good fine point because I think it makes my penmanship much better.
     
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  4. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Now to find some decent men’s stationary.....
     
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  5. PLAla

    PLAla Bit Shy of a Full Puck

    I’ve ordered some good stuff from Stationery Studio online.
     
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  6. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Thank you for the recommendation. :)
     
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  7. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    If a nib is filthy, it should be fairly easy to clean up. If it is damaged, there are a number of nibmeisters who can repair and adjust them.

    Mike It Work (Mike Masuyama)
    Fountain Pen Hospital
    The Nibsmith (Dan Smith)
    Custom Nib Studio (Gena Salorino)
    Greg Minuskin
    Nibs.com (John Mottishaw)
    Bertram's Inkwell

    I had vintage pens restored by Mike Masuyama, and he also adjusted the nibs. The pens wrote beautifully after he worked his magic. Fountain Pen Hospital has been in business 70 years, and so were fixing nibs while fountain pens were still in common use.

    Strathmore 500 Series writing pads and envelopes are quite good, inexpensive and work well with fountain pens. Paper & Ink Arts sells it online, and it may be available in local brick-and-mortar stores.
     
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  8. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for directing me to the paper.

    Since replacement Esterbrooks NOS nibs are so available and inexpensive, I think the option of not trying to fix one is a better option. I'll probably not get into restorations big time, but it is nice to have the replacement sacs, nibs, talc, j bars, and shellac if needed.

    I'm restoring a beautiful pen and pencil set for my daughter whose favorite color is blue. The j bar was broken so I ordered a couple from Anderson Pens. They have been good about responding to my new person questions. When I get those in Saturday I will measure and attach the sac after installing the j bar. I'll be able to ship out Monday I hope. She knows it's coming. I made a new eraser and got .9mm lead to match Esterbrook's .36 inch recommendation on the pencil shaft.

    All in all, I have enjoyed restoring Esterbrook pens that I have found. The nib changes is like having a different pen. My favorite is a transitional J from the '40's with a 9668 (general writing) nib.
     
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  9. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Ordered Strathmore paper and envelops.
     
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  10. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Pen shows can be fun and informative. I learned a lot about the history of some of the companies from the reps, last time I went to one. If you are in New York City, check out the Fountain Pen Hospital at 10 Warren St. They sell new and vintage pens as well as repairing them.
     
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  11. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    6E719D92-693E-4FA2-9781-8D006B689034.jpeg

    My collection to date. The ones on the right are my restorations. I’ve restored two more for others.
     
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  12. MVeeI

    MVeeI Well-Known Member

    If your cursive is illegible, then print. Your readers will be grateful and you won't be misunderstood.

    Consider using a gel ink pen like the various Uni-balls. Virtually no maintenance required and the ink is waterproof and fade proof.

    Wax seals can be damaged if machine cancelled. Hand cancelling requires 21 cents additional postage.
     
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  13. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    The 21 cents nonmachinable surcharge (i.e. hand cancelling) is correct for international mail. The surcharge is 15 cents for US domestic mail. (ref. ShippingEasy website). The USPS Postage Price Calculator is a useful tool, as it gives the total postage due based on a variety of factors. Look at the very bottom of the results for the stamped letter postage.

    In case it helps, Atelier Gargoyle has flexible sealing wax that is supposed to be more mail-friendly than traditional hard wax seals.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2019
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