major pen lover here… Pens are my jewelry fetish. I can’t care less about jewelry other then my wedding ring and wedding chain, but pens do it for me. My fave is a Parker Duofold Centennial edition, med. nib. Jasper Red. Writes smooth as butter and never skips. I have a little flourish in my signature where I underline the signature, and doing this a little quickly makes the nib ring a little like a sword coming out of a scabard
I have tried an even smoother one, the Omas Paragon. That was like writing on glass with an ice nib, it was so smooth… Unfortunately, the barrel doesn’t flare out at the bottom, and my fingers kept sliding onto the nib. They have a cool Titanium version out now. (Can you imagine how hard that was to machine?)
I also have a montblanc for dressy events / big meetings, a low-end reddish brown Waterman for wearing with khakis, and a clear-body Recife pen, that you refill with a dropper or syringe, and that lets you see the ink. It’s great to look at the ink flowing back and forth when your’re bored in a meeting…
On my fantasty wish list:
-one of the bigger Pelican Souverans (red & black or blue & black)
-the Namiki one done in Japanese laquer shoing Mt. Fuji
-a restored parker 51 hidden nib pen.
Unfortunately, they’re all priced more in the jewelry category than in the “stationery” category
Ink-wise, I used to love the Herbin Bleu Myosotis; it’s a rich royal blue with purple undertones, but since my son was born, and they told us to bring a pen with black ink to register the birth at the hospital, I’ve switched to Pelikan Brilliant Black. It doesn’t grey out at all, but gives you a very black line, unlike most other blacks I’ve tried.
I love pens.
I have fountain pens of all brands. I also have the Rotring metal one, but it is not a favorite at all. The cap does click on, but its not a tight fit. I can feel it jiggling as I write and it drives me up the wall. I also think its a bit too heavy for extended use. I do like Rotrings art pen series, although they are too long to carry around at times.
My favorite pen is my Lamy. I love it more than the mont blanc, more than the shaeffer, more than the parker! The reason I love it so is because it always works! I can have it in storage for a month, pull it out and it writes like silk. I also have an aurora that I love.
With inks, I spare no expense. The bottles last forever and a good ink is worth it. I am curently using some from a micro-manufacturer. Usually I use a blue-black. The exception is that the Aurora has a nice red-orange ink.
Wow, Jaade, I hadn’t expected to see this thread again. Yep, I’ve something of a pen and paper fetish too. I absolutely love my book-bound sketchbooks/journals and my Rotring art pens.
So, babe, we gettin’ hitched in Tennessee or Texas?
Been to DFW for a week or so before. Felt right at home … great barbecue and familiar accents … was just like a really, REALLY big, really, REALLY hot Tennessee.
Allright, I may need to get a fountain pen. I have been using rollerballs, I can’t stand ballpoint. A fountain just seems like alot of work, and I don’t write that much, and I tend to keep my daily use pen in a pocket of my briefcase, where it gets turned upside down and tossed about a bit. Am I a good candidate for a fountain? What would be a good one to start with? Is a cartridge fountain just like a rollerball? How long will the ink stay good in the pen?
Rhum Runner, I’ve found fountain pens to be pretty hardy little buggers in being in pockets, bags, etc. As long as you’re not throwing them down hard or dropping them frequently, I’d say they’ll be alright. Fountain pens and rollerballs are two totally different beasts, but the difference in feel and smoothness is incredible. The ink will not last like the ink in rollerball pens, and will dry out pretty quickly in comparison. If you let it go too long without use, well, you’re in for a crash course in nib cleaning. I’ve found the cleaning fluid for drafting pens works pretty well.
A good starter? Parker makes some great, inexpensive fountain pens with replaceable cartridges. Then, if you like it, you can move up to even nicer (and more expensive) ones. You can also get Rotring Art Pens with sketch/writing nibs (non-calligraphy) for around $15 at a good art supply store. They use disposable cartridges too (Rotring proprietary, naturally), or a refillable cartridge. These are really nice, but a little oddly shaped for day-to-day use.
