Monday, May 8th, 2006...9:22 am
So You Wanna Use a Fountain Pen?
Many of us who strive for effectiveness understand that sometimes a new toy or tool will serve to motivate us in some of the tasks that can otherwise become tedious or bothersome. For those of us who spend a lot of time in meetings taking notes, pen collecting can become a pastime.
For pen collectors, details are very important in choosing a writing instrument. There are some great rollerballs now that use gel ink that are up to any task. But ask almost any pen collector, and they will tell you that few experiences compare with using a good fountain pen.
The key to choosing a good fountain pen is educating yourself. There are several websites out there that are quite good at helping us understand “Fountain Pen 101″.
Rick Conner has a great site that gives detailed analysis of the different aspects of choosing fountain pens. He also talks about the products that are available from some of the more reputable fountain pen manufacturers.
The Fountain Pen Network is an online community for fountain pen enthusiasts. In my opinion, this is the best way to get information on specific fountain pens. Many of the members can give reviews of specific pens from their own experience. I certainly recommend you check here before you buy.
There is a recent thread on 43 Folders in which some GTDers discuss various fountain pens. Some of the more experienced, share their knowledge on the subject.
Fountain pens come in all shapes and sizes…Oh, and prices. You can spend $500 on a fountain pen. But for those of is who have not won the lottery recently, that is not an option. The key is to maximize form and function while minimizing price.
I have never personally spent more than $20 on a pen. In an upcoming trip to New York, I plan to visit one of the Joon pen shops in Manhattan. I have ordered from this store before, and have been satisfied with their service. But, obviously, they are not the only pen retailer out there. Other pen enthusiasts have other retailers that have offered very good service.
I have been using a Rotring Core Fountain for a couple of years now. I like this pen. However, it does have a tendency to dry out rather quickly, and can be rough on most papers. I have heard great reviews for the Lamy Safari recently. So when I am in New York, I intend to buy one. So stayed tuned for a review coming in late June.
I typically use a medium nib. However, that in large part, is because for some cheaper pens, it is quite difficult to get a smooth straight script from a fine nib. If I can find one that does write smoothly with a fine nib. I will buy it. I hear that the Lamy Safari will fit the bill.
I will also be purchasing a couple of Lamy rollerballs while I am there. But I will save more detail on that for another post.
If you educate yourself and get what is best for you, without feeling guilty about the outflow of cash, then your writing experience can be greatly enhanced with a good fountain pen.
- Jason
6 Comments
May 8th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
People often mention the Fisher Space Pen for GTD/Hipster PDA purposes so I decided to give it a try but they have sadly no distributors over here. Currently I use a gel pen as a temporary low-cost option. I want to buy a reliable pen on long term since the Hipster gets touched quite frequently and usual pens make writing difficult on it. After Hipstering for months I finally began to realize why Fisher Space Pens “writes even on butter” feature is so important.
May 8th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
I agree completely… it’s a joy to write my lab-work with my m150 Pelikan and a nice large Moleskine… I number the pages as I go, and keep a table of contents in the front… when going to group-meeting, I pick it up on the way out of the office- and now I never lose my in-lab notes or my group-meeting notes. Nice.
BTW, the Pelikan m150’s with a fine nib are just fantastic. I love it. Beautiful, understated. Very reasonable in price for a good fountain pen. Check online for prices etc., you can get them for like $50. There is another great benefit- the nib can be replaced… they come as screw-in nib units. So, if you don’t like that F, you can always buy an M, or you can get Richard Binder to make you a new nib and screw that in.
Having a nice pen definitely makes work much more fun. Oh, and don’t forget nice ink… Noodler’s is just fantastic.
May 9th, 2006 at 9:46 am
I have been using a fountain pen daily since 1985. I bought two beautiful Mont Blancs while I was in the Army and had $$ burning a hole in my pocket. It was the best $600 I ever spent!
I used them daily all throughout college, and I received many compliments from older professors — perhaps they even bumped up some of my grades for my keen use of writing tools
For the last fifteen years, I’ve used them daily in my work. I even print my own “Day-Timer” style pages on Crane’s 100% cotton stationery which has a beautiful kid finish and takes a fountain pen beautifully. I know that I use my planner more and journal more because writing is sucha a pleasure with these pens.
They truly have been an investment that has returned more than 20 years of writing pleasure to me.
PS: if you haven’t tried Noodler’s Ink, you should — it is beautiful and permanent!
May 9th, 2006 at 10:11 am
I agree with the choice of the Safari. It is a wonderful pen. I typically use the al-star (silver and blue) for most of my writing. The ink still flows after being capped for weeks at a time. Check out fountain pen hospital while you are in NY. They seem to have some interesting things. Get the catalog, there are pens far beyond the $500 price you mentioned. I’ve given myself a $100 limit for pens (per pen). Above that I’d probably be too nervous to use it.
May 10th, 2006 at 11:32 am
I’ll have to differ with Fred on the Safari pen. I’ve had one for a while but I keep going back to my Pelican. The Safari just doesn’t seem to write consistently. I’ve tried the fine and the italic nibs but they both seem to exhibit the same issue. Cool pen…bad nib. PS - my current fav is a Waterman gel pen I got for my 20th anneversary at my last company.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
For a little over ten years, I was obsessively devoted to Sheaffer fountain pens, jet black ink only, thank you very much. I hated breaking them in, but there’s nothing like the way a nib picks up your writing angle and begins conforming to it, kind of like shoes.
My main problem was that I would fetish each pen I got in succession - this is my pen, my one and only, the best pen in the world - and then carelessly lose it after about a year - because, hey, it’s just a pen, I couldn’t actually be bothered to keep track of it every second.
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