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They always held appeal. A very long time ago ........... my affinity for writing instruments, in general, started in about 1966. As far back as 1st grade at St. Agnes school (New Orleans suburb Jefferson, LA; Mrs. Lanoux’s first grade class) I had a cigar box of pencils of various kinds. We were not allowed to use ink pens until late in the 2nd grade year and at that point mainly BIC Crystals. Fast forward 8 years to high school, I used a Sheaffer School pen (solid green barrel and later a green No-Nonsense FP (Rummel High School, Metairie, LA, class of 1978) during the period of 1974 to about 1976; mainly Royal Blue cartridges and later, Jet Black.
I would like to make mention that my college pathogenic microbiology and immunology professor, the late Dr. Ronald J. Siebeling of Louisianan State University (renowned Vibrio cholera researcher), was a Sheaffer NoNonsense user. This was during the period of about 1979-1985. Ron also refilled his own cartridges with Sheaffer black or red with a hypodermic syringe. That was where I learned about refilling cartridges. Our exams were marked with Sheaffer red.
Upon finishing my doctoral degree and having obtained a position with the Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, NE (a paying tenure-track position) I began using more and more FPs all the while mainly still using other writing instruments (e.g. U.S. Government Skilcraft black ball point clicker to name just one). I recall purchasing a green brushed capped Sheaffer Imperial at Hastings Office Supplies in Hastings, NE in ~1996. My Parker Vector FP was and still is a mainstay (‘Ole Blue’).
Fast forward about 1.5 decades and the FP genes expressed themselves in a geometrically increasing manner. This is when I discovered Dalys Pens in Milwaukee and met the owner and proprietor, Brad Bodart. Brad told me his parents owned the store since the 1970’s before he took over operations in the 2000’s (? research this). Dalys was the oldest pen store in America having been in business continuously from 1924 until 2017. I visited the store in 2008 when it was still in downtown Milwaukee inside of a failing mall near the Milwaukee River. Then it relocated to Burleigh St. where I frequented the store and finally to its last and terminal locale on North Ave. I bought many pens from Dalys including a Lamy Safari Charcoal, Lamy Al-StarCopper Orange, a Lamy 2000, Shaeffer Brush Aluminum, a few Noodler’s Ahabs and many bottles of ink, (mostly Noodler’s) and both Safari and Esterbrook nibs. I also sold several Bluestem FPs through Dalys In the fall of 2016 just the year before closure.
Entering the world of pen disassemble lay, was a milestone and here was a majorly important influence on my path to FP nirvanathat came about when I began watching SBRE Brown YouTube videos and at the same time disassembling pens, polishing nibs and buying FPs over the internet. There are several good YouTube FP channels e.g. Gourmet Pens, Stephen Brown, The Pen Habit (since discontinued, but resides in the ether), Pen Addict, Chris Rasp, Michael Matteson, David Parker, Anderson Pens Sunday Breakfast, and others.
Before you buy a pen I recommend checking out the reviews on Stephen Brown’s website, the list is quite large. I was fortunate enough to live less than a 2 hour drive from Anderson Pens in Appleton, Wisconsin. I met Brian and Lisa Andersons, the famous FP couple, who now have a second store in downtown Chicago as well as Appleton. This phase began in about 2008 and now its 2022, I must have over 200 FPs including ones I have made on my lathe.
I recently asked myself whether I am a pen hoarder, or collector or user? I do not hoard or just accumulate FPs. I use each and every one of them for varying lengths of time with multiple inks on different types of paper and for multiple purposes. I am a user/collector (a “ullector”). This is important, for when I make the decision to spend money on a pen, it is always for a combination of reasons (sizes, designs, materials, colours, nibs, filling system, price point etc.) but the most important is functionality. If an FP does not write well, and I cannot repair and correct the flaw, it will not be in my collection. My criteria are ink flow, nib writing feel (rough, smooth, buttery, glassy, toothy etc), girth, nib unit to section friction fit snugness, nib/section exchangeability, disassembly/assembly-ability, no hard starting, cap and posting functionality, tight junctions (including cap) and finally strength and functionality of the clip. I tend not to prefer ornate pens and gravitate to larger pens, but use all sizes.
OK, that’s great, but why fountain pens? Some musings follow.
It’s genetic (?). There are those who believe that people who collect things and are drawn to certain forms of esoterica share some genetic predisposition or possess a “collecting gene”. This idea is bantered around philately (stamp collecting meets and shows that I frequent), but does it apply to FPs? In theory, one could use a database such as My Ancestry or 23 and Me to mine for a predisposition for being an FPer and relating it to a set of genes. There is a subgroup of those who tend to hold on to possessions that have no apparent value or use! Yep, I have that gene. But, the FP clearly does not fall into that category.
More on the genetic bit. I am a microbiologist and started studying genetics in the days just during the start of molecular biology ~ 1975-1985. But before then genes -or traits- were “mapped” based on their proximity to other traits. For instance, if a bacteria was found to cause a disease like pneumonia (trait = ‘causes pneumonia’), it was also found to have the trait of producing a gummy protective capsule around itself (trait= ‘capsule’). Where one found one of these traits, usually the other was there as well, they co-inherited.
…..OK…..
Now go out and find a group of FPers together in the same room such as at a pen show. Look around and also listen, once you go deeper than just ‘pen talk’ you will quite likely see other common ‘traits’. For examples; similar patterns of dress, a similar sense of humor (if not the same silly jokes), a pronounced meticulousness and attention to detail (shade of blue ink, angle of nib grind etc etc), age-agnosticism and others. In essence, it would appear that along with a love of FPs, other dissimilar traits were “co-inherited”.
Please argue with me (email [email protected]). One can say this is a crude and purely coincidental set of occurrences. Recall though that I wrote to go beyond the surface of just ‘pen talk’. I’m not a student or scholar of human groups/interaction (sociology), human behavior (psychology) or mechanistic underpinnings (neuroscience or cognitive neuroscience), but if one generalizes to other ‘trait groups’ like stamp collectors, gun collectors, gardeners etc etc etc, I would contend a similar argument might be applied to making the case that there is a genetic (heritable) component at play.
PLEASE ARGUE WITH ME.
Back to musings on FP usage…….
Organizing ones thoughts. This is often cited as a reason to use FPs, and I concur that FP use definitely let’s me organize my thoughts before or as I write them down. It forces me to write slower, which improves penmanship.
There is a huge choice of FP inks. I use different ink colours for different purposes, e.g. highlighting, emphasizing, editing, diagrams, or margin notes etc. Ink permanence is always a consideration for me and I use washable inks while testing or adjusting my FPs but largely bulletproof/waterproof inks for most other purposes. Ink flow, whether dry or wet (e.g. PR Tanzanite a.n.a. the ‘laxative’ of inks) or well behaved (Waterman Serenity Blue, the “Boy Scout” of inks) is considered for nib-section combinations that seem sluggish. See more on inks on page WHY BOTTLED INKS?
FPs combine many principles of physics and chemistry including surface tension, ink-material interfaces, air displacement, capillary action, gravity etc. all together into one functional, portable instrument , requiring no electricity into a tool or instrument which can be disassembled, reassembled, repaired, cleaned, adjusted and modified for each individual’s preferences all without disposing of the pen. As strange as this might sound, I enjoy envisioning the path of ink component molecules from the reservoir to the feed, to the feed-nib junction, the nib tip and ultimately to the nib-paper junction, and flow to the paper where they bind to cellulose fibers. Then, I Enjoy watching as the ink dries and changes its reflecting light from shiny to dull as it binds to the paper. All together making a great saga of chemistry and physics! Ahem.... back to reality.....I like seeing how it makes marks on paper! It is a tool of value and craftsmanship with almost limitless capacity for different uses and fit to each individual’s own unique hand and penmanship, creativity and dexterity. Do yo7 feel the warm-n-fuzzies yet?
FPs with well tuned nibs are far superior in terms of glide. Glide? Yes, glide. That is the term which describes the movement of the loaded nib across paper to leave a solid line of ink. Glide can be scratchy, toothy, glassy smooth, “like butter” smooth, squeaky or many other descriptors. Having the right glide will allows one to take notes at a speed if not near the rate of the spoken word then just plain fast! But at the same time, FPs can force one to slow down a bit and improve their penmanship and even word selection.
Nibs come in a wide variety of materials, sizes and flex. From steel to gold alloys, from extra fine to double broad, from round to stubs, from nail-stiff to flex; one can pick a nib for specific uses. I gravitate to fine-medium tip steel nibs for general use. The only flex nibs I use with any regularity are the Noodler’s Ink steel flex nibs. The amount of flex (nib tine opening width) on this nib can actually be controlled by a piece of cellophane tape put on the nib and trimmed with an Exacto knife.
My late father’s desk fountain pen (there’s that gene thing again!) is an Eversharp with a 14K, M nib and gets my No. 1 spot for the best writing/gliding/girthing FP I own. This is mainly because of the nib-feed functionality.
My mother gave me one of her Esterbrook Model J’s (green) F nib, which writes most excellently! It is easy to see how those writers once dominated the US FP mass market.
Are there any downsides to using FPs? No, there are no real ‘downsides’. There is an adage in the upper Midwest US that goes like this: “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices”. Similarly, there are no bad FPs, only ill-suited FP users”. Messiness, cost, in-flight-ascent burping, false starts, leaks, etc. can be considerations, but all of those things have ready solutions. For the FPer none of those things matter because the desire for functional, well crafted hand tools outweighs any rare inconvenience.
Those are some reasons I am a dedicated FPer and why I use FPs. I would like to hear about your own answers to the question “why fountain pens?”. Send an email with your musings to [email protected].
Power to the FP pepople!
P.S. Did I mention that FPers are a terrific lot? Friendly, witty, bright? Maybe they share an FP gene?
I would like to make mention that my college pathogenic microbiology and immunology professor, the late Dr. Ronald J. Siebeling of Louisianan State University (renowned Vibrio cholera researcher), was a Sheaffer NoNonsense user. This was during the period of about 1979-1985. Ron also refilled his own cartridges with Sheaffer black or red with a hypodermic syringe. That was where I learned about refilling cartridges. Our exams were marked with Sheaffer red.
Upon finishing my doctoral degree and having obtained a position with the Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, NE (a paying tenure-track position) I began using more and more FPs all the while mainly still using other writing instruments (e.g. U.S. Government Skilcraft black ball point clicker to name just one). I recall purchasing a green brushed capped Sheaffer Imperial at Hastings Office Supplies in Hastings, NE in ~1996. My Parker Vector FP was and still is a mainstay (‘Ole Blue’).
Fast forward about 1.5 decades and the FP genes expressed themselves in a geometrically increasing manner. This is when I discovered Dalys Pens in Milwaukee and met the owner and proprietor, Brad Bodart. Brad told me his parents owned the store since the 1970’s before he took over operations in the 2000’s (? research this). Dalys was the oldest pen store in America having been in business continuously from 1924 until 2017. I visited the store in 2008 when it was still in downtown Milwaukee inside of a failing mall near the Milwaukee River. Then it relocated to Burleigh St. where I frequented the store and finally to its last and terminal locale on North Ave. I bought many pens from Dalys including a Lamy Safari Charcoal, Lamy Al-StarCopper Orange, a Lamy 2000, Shaeffer Brush Aluminum, a few Noodler’s Ahabs and many bottles of ink, (mostly Noodler’s) and both Safari and Esterbrook nibs. I also sold several Bluestem FPs through Dalys In the fall of 2016 just the year before closure.
Entering the world of pen disassemble lay, was a milestone and here was a majorly important influence on my path to FP nirvanathat came about when I began watching SBRE Brown YouTube videos and at the same time disassembling pens, polishing nibs and buying FPs over the internet. There are several good YouTube FP channels e.g. Gourmet Pens, Stephen Brown, The Pen Habit (since discontinued, but resides in the ether), Pen Addict, Chris Rasp, Michael Matteson, David Parker, Anderson Pens Sunday Breakfast, and others.
Before you buy a pen I recommend checking out the reviews on Stephen Brown’s website, the list is quite large. I was fortunate enough to live less than a 2 hour drive from Anderson Pens in Appleton, Wisconsin. I met Brian and Lisa Andersons, the famous FP couple, who now have a second store in downtown Chicago as well as Appleton. This phase began in about 2008 and now its 2022, I must have over 200 FPs including ones I have made on my lathe.
I recently asked myself whether I am a pen hoarder, or collector or user? I do not hoard or just accumulate FPs. I use each and every one of them for varying lengths of time with multiple inks on different types of paper and for multiple purposes. I am a user/collector (a “ullector”). This is important, for when I make the decision to spend money on a pen, it is always for a combination of reasons (sizes, designs, materials, colours, nibs, filling system, price point etc.) but the most important is functionality. If an FP does not write well, and I cannot repair and correct the flaw, it will not be in my collection. My criteria are ink flow, nib writing feel (rough, smooth, buttery, glassy, toothy etc), girth, nib unit to section friction fit snugness, nib/section exchangeability, disassembly/assembly-ability, no hard starting, cap and posting functionality, tight junctions (including cap) and finally strength and functionality of the clip. I tend not to prefer ornate pens and gravitate to larger pens, but use all sizes.
OK, that’s great, but why fountain pens? Some musings follow.
It’s genetic (?). There are those who believe that people who collect things and are drawn to certain forms of esoterica share some genetic predisposition or possess a “collecting gene”. This idea is bantered around philately (stamp collecting meets and shows that I frequent), but does it apply to FPs? In theory, one could use a database such as My Ancestry or 23 and Me to mine for a predisposition for being an FPer and relating it to a set of genes. There is a subgroup of those who tend to hold on to possessions that have no apparent value or use! Yep, I have that gene. But, the FP clearly does not fall into that category.
More on the genetic bit. I am a microbiologist and started studying genetics in the days just during the start of molecular biology ~ 1975-1985. But before then genes -or traits- were “mapped” based on their proximity to other traits. For instance, if a bacteria was found to cause a disease like pneumonia (trait = ‘causes pneumonia’), it was also found to have the trait of producing a gummy protective capsule around itself (trait= ‘capsule’). Where one found one of these traits, usually the other was there as well, they co-inherited.
…..OK…..
Now go out and find a group of FPers together in the same room such as at a pen show. Look around and also listen, once you go deeper than just ‘pen talk’ you will quite likely see other common ‘traits’. For examples; similar patterns of dress, a similar sense of humor (if not the same silly jokes), a pronounced meticulousness and attention to detail (shade of blue ink, angle of nib grind etc etc), age-agnosticism and others. In essence, it would appear that along with a love of FPs, other dissimilar traits were “co-inherited”.
Please argue with me (email [email protected]). One can say this is a crude and purely coincidental set of occurrences. Recall though that I wrote to go beyond the surface of just ‘pen talk’. I’m not a student or scholar of human groups/interaction (sociology), human behavior (psychology) or mechanistic underpinnings (neuroscience or cognitive neuroscience), but if one generalizes to other ‘trait groups’ like stamp collectors, gun collectors, gardeners etc etc etc, I would contend a similar argument might be applied to making the case that there is a genetic (heritable) component at play.
PLEASE ARGUE WITH ME.
Back to musings on FP usage…….
Organizing ones thoughts. This is often cited as a reason to use FPs, and I concur that FP use definitely let’s me organize my thoughts before or as I write them down. It forces me to write slower, which improves penmanship.
There is a huge choice of FP inks. I use different ink colours for different purposes, e.g. highlighting, emphasizing, editing, diagrams, or margin notes etc. Ink permanence is always a consideration for me and I use washable inks while testing or adjusting my FPs but largely bulletproof/waterproof inks for most other purposes. Ink flow, whether dry or wet (e.g. PR Tanzanite a.n.a. the ‘laxative’ of inks) or well behaved (Waterman Serenity Blue, the “Boy Scout” of inks) is considered for nib-section combinations that seem sluggish. See more on inks on page WHY BOTTLED INKS?
FPs combine many principles of physics and chemistry including surface tension, ink-material interfaces, air displacement, capillary action, gravity etc. all together into one functional, portable instrument , requiring no electricity into a tool or instrument which can be disassembled, reassembled, repaired, cleaned, adjusted and modified for each individual’s preferences all without disposing of the pen. As strange as this might sound, I enjoy envisioning the path of ink component molecules from the reservoir to the feed, to the feed-nib junction, the nib tip and ultimately to the nib-paper junction, and flow to the paper where they bind to cellulose fibers. Then, I Enjoy watching as the ink dries and changes its reflecting light from shiny to dull as it binds to the paper. All together making a great saga of chemistry and physics! Ahem.... back to reality.....I like seeing how it makes marks on paper! It is a tool of value and craftsmanship with almost limitless capacity for different uses and fit to each individual’s own unique hand and penmanship, creativity and dexterity. Do yo7 feel the warm-n-fuzzies yet?
FPs with well tuned nibs are far superior in terms of glide. Glide? Yes, glide. That is the term which describes the movement of the loaded nib across paper to leave a solid line of ink. Glide can be scratchy, toothy, glassy smooth, “like butter” smooth, squeaky or many other descriptors. Having the right glide will allows one to take notes at a speed if not near the rate of the spoken word then just plain fast! But at the same time, FPs can force one to slow down a bit and improve their penmanship and even word selection.
Nibs come in a wide variety of materials, sizes and flex. From steel to gold alloys, from extra fine to double broad, from round to stubs, from nail-stiff to flex; one can pick a nib for specific uses. I gravitate to fine-medium tip steel nibs for general use. The only flex nibs I use with any regularity are the Noodler’s Ink steel flex nibs. The amount of flex (nib tine opening width) on this nib can actually be controlled by a piece of cellophane tape put on the nib and trimmed with an Exacto knife.
My late father’s desk fountain pen (there’s that gene thing again!) is an Eversharp with a 14K, M nib and gets my No. 1 spot for the best writing/gliding/girthing FP I own. This is mainly because of the nib-feed functionality.
My mother gave me one of her Esterbrook Model J’s (green) F nib, which writes most excellently! It is easy to see how those writers once dominated the US FP mass market.
Are there any downsides to using FPs? No, there are no real ‘downsides’. There is an adage in the upper Midwest US that goes like this: “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices”. Similarly, there are no bad FPs, only ill-suited FP users”. Messiness, cost, in-flight-ascent burping, false starts, leaks, etc. can be considerations, but all of those things have ready solutions. For the FPer none of those things matter because the desire for functional, well crafted hand tools outweighs any rare inconvenience.
Those are some reasons I am a dedicated FPer and why I use FPs. I would like to hear about your own answers to the question “why fountain pens?”. Send an email with your musings to [email protected].
Power to the FP pepople!
P.S. Did I mention that FPers are a terrific lot? Friendly, witty, bright? Maybe they share an FP gene?