Fountain Pens

Any other old dinosaurs around here that still use fountain pens? I’m looking for like minded folks to swap ideas on pens, ink, papers, etc. Better through personal emails so we don’t clog up this lovely forum with off topic subjects.

I use a fountain pen, although not as much as I used to. Still have a nice little collection of pens. I suggest you try the Fountain Pen Network forum for good discussion on all related topics.

I have to look for my calligraphy pens and put them into use . It’s been decades

There was a chap called Richard Binder who was to fountain pen nibs what Nigel or Sir Johnny (or Chef Daniel) are to snuff. He was a genius at modifying nibs to make them italic or soft or however you wanted them. Don’t know if he’s still at it, I think he had health and age issues. I used to buy pens on eBay and get him to restore them. Excellent work!

I still sign off all my letters in work with mine.

I remember penmanship. My 4th grade teacher used to come by every morning with a long-spouted copper pitcher to fill the ink wells in our desks and hand out new nibs to those of us who were to adventurous with our dip pens. Got a friend who’s 11th grade son just learned how to write his name in script rather than print… The school doesn’t teach that any more.

I’m learning Spencerian Script right now. I have a very long way to go up a very steep hill with that beautiful piece of penmanship.

cool ^ You going to do the labels on your wares?

@Mouse Doubtful at the rate I’m going on the learning curve. It would be nice though.

I use fountain pens and most of time i write business writing. When i carry flexible nib fountain pen i write spencerian. At first it was difficult to write with the shoulder movement without using fingers but i used to.

I write with fountain pens every day. My daily drivers are a Lamy with a medium italic nib, and a fine point Hero. The Lamy is piston fill and the Hero uses the aerometric-style fill found on many of the old Parker 51s (and how I’d love to snag one of those…). I’m a big fan of Noodlers Inks. Currently using Noodlers Heart of Darkness, and J. Herbin’s Perle Noire.

I’m using Noodler’s La Reine Mauve from a few years back. A little thick for fountain pens w/o resorting to some distilled water and a drop of detergent but works great for dipping nibs. My old Mont Blanc beast has Noodler’s Rattler Red from signing my IRS 1040 form and writing them a check.

Noodlers had some kind of indelible, water proof ink that I used to use a lot, but it took forever to dry unless you used blotting paper. But it was the blackest black ink I ever saw.

I use dip pens for all writing. I use homemade walnut ink.

@wanderingwoodsmith I use some dip pens depending on the project. I’d love to hear about your homemade ink.

@chefdaniel the ink is rather simple but takes a while. I gather black walnut husks once they start to degrade, enough to fill a large stock pot nearly full. Do not use a stockpot that you wish to use again, as the walnuts can ruin certain metals. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the husks and bring to a simmer. I simmer mine for a couple hours, replacing the water as it evaporates.when in done extracting, I take the mixture and strain through an old cheese cloth. I toss the husks, return the dark liquid to the pot and simmer until it is reduced to a few ounces of gooey dark brown liquid. Since this type of ink is more of a suspended pigment ink it needs a good stir or gentle shake before using, and is the color of walnut brown. I have heard of people adding a drop of witch hazel or Iso alcohol to preserve it, but I just bottle mine and it ferments over time.

Also try not to breath in the fumes while simmering, seems like I remember hearing the fumes might be bad for the lungs.

I never used walnut as ink but I suspect it will work rather good, I’ve gotten that stuff on my hands when gathering and dehusking black walnuts and it does not come off easily, that stuff stains your hands right good!

@n9inchnails walnuts make excellent dyes aand inks. I prefer it because I try to be self sufficient as much as possible. And its free in unlimited amounts(in my area)

I exclusively use fountain pens, and I also collect vintage fountain pens. When I emigrated to the States in 2009, I had to sell a lot of my stuff. Unfortunately, this included most of my collection of vintage fountain pens, such as my mint-in-box green 1930’s Duofold, all my Parker “51”'s, my pretty extensive collection of chased hard rubber lever fillers, and most of my Sheaffer Balances :frowning: I really wish I had kept the Duofold and at least one of my “51”'s. I did keep seven pens, mostly Sheaffer’s, which I left at my Mom’s house. She’s coming to visit in June, so I’ll be reunited with them once again. My ‘daily driver’ right now is a Hero Jumbo/Doctor, which is a Chinese Parker “51” clone. It’s no “51” to be sure, but they are nice pens once you tweak them right. I’m keeping my eyes open for a “51” desk set to use at work. One pen filled with the ink of the moment, and the other filled with Scrip red. I’m also contemplating a pen with a calligraphy nib (or maybe even a music nib) filled with Noodlers highlighter ink. I do a lot of highlighting at work, and it would be nice to use a fountain pen for that too. I’m also planning to try my hand at making fountain pens. The main obstacle to overcome is cutting the threads, or rather making the tools to cut the threads. You can buy the necessary taps and dies, but the custom sizes I need are hundreds of dollars each. I really should stop procrastinating and order some tool steel…