Fountain Pens

[WarrenD]

How interesting Kai!  How old is your son?  I sure wish school was like that here in the U.S.

Warren

[Alexis]

I started writing with fountain pens in my mid 20's and haven't turned back to ball point with the exception of at work .
Learning along the way on the weight of the pen in relation to the quill even to the style of quill used . No one is allowed to use my pens either . Over time a prefect wear spot forums on the tip of the quill having a better flow on the paper . Type of paper also aids . Best weight range is between 20 -40 ( tight paper weave ) .
I used to do a lot of hand writing when I used to keep a journal . Something I no longer do now that I have a computer .





Terri

[Kai]

How interesting Kai!  How old is your son?  I sure wish school was like that here in the U.S.

Warren

He's 15, started using a fountain pen at 11 when he went to High School, for English Language & Literature.

[WarrenD]

Thanks Kai, there is such a marked difference between the UK and US educational system. (I'll leave that right there. If I go on, I'll go on a rant about my work, and I come here to get away from that.  )

Terri, that's great. Too bad you no longer keep your journals in longhand, but I completely understand why. (On a funny note: Shelby Foote, a noted American author, did ALL of his writing in long hand on yellow legal pads. ALL of it. When he passed away not too long ago, his library was packed to the gills with those pads I hear.)

FWIW, my handwriting was bad enough as it is, the advent of PC's, the convenience of Word documents, etc. just insured it has become totally atrophied. I can print now, and that's about it.

Warren

[Kai]

I should point out he's in a private school. The quality of state school education in Wales is, um, variable.

[ALBATROS1234]

been using fountain pens on and off all my life. mainly for calligraphy when i was a boy and just to write now. my main writer is a very fine pen and ink sketch pen. its like a $20 pen but they write so smoothly with no pressure so you can hold them in a relaxed manner. probably why its easier to write neatly, they just flow like an extension of your hand . ball points are horrid things you have to push so hard and the line is nowhere near as smooth. fountain pens are awesome.  i always have mine with me. people are all like wow cool pen. a few female friends were so interested i bought them some as x-mas gifts. i sometimes use my fountain pens to draw in recessed detail like aileron/elevator/rudder separations in 1/48 and 1/72 models.have even used them to draw in recessed panel lines, just a quick wipe in the airflow direction gets the excess and blends it in. they are great.

[WarrenD]

And see? People thought this wasn't about modeling!    Pshaw!

Good tip though, thanks!

Warren

[eindecker]

I keep an almost-daily journal, in longhand, and, until very recently, with fountain pens. I have a goodly number of journals on the bookshelves, although I don't know why anyone would want to read through them. Pretty ordinary. When visiting my son in NYC last summer, I found some outstanding roller ball or ball point (hard to tell the difference) pens made in Japan. One version is by Pentel, the Slicci. They have amazingly small points, like 0.3mm and 0.25mm, the ink never smears or blots and flows smoothly and consistently, and, unlike many fountain pen inks, dries almost instantly. No smearing.

I have the Slicci and a couple of other Japanese brands in 0.3mm and 0.25mm, black and blue ink – they come in many colors of ink – and I now prefer them to my fountain pens.

[ALBATROS1234]

i just like pens. i have a large variety of diff types including roller ball. mainly .5mm and smaller. perhaps its the nostalgia of it but i just like the fountain pens the most. but then i use traditional wet shaving soaps with a mug and brush and old style double edge type razors.much better shave closer and more comfortable.

[WarrenD]

. but then i use traditional wet shaving soaps with a mug and brush and old style double edge type razors.much better shave closer and more comfortable.

Same here for many years now, but haven't graduated to using double-edged razors yet.

Warren