Hi there I would like to consider myself an amateur collector. I have been using fountain pens since 1998 when I was 11 years old. My only pen was a Parker Vector fountain pen. When I got my first job as a state prosecutor all hell broke loose. I have in my collection : Lamy, Parker, Sheaffer, Schneider, Pilot, Jinhao, Hero’s. I am currently awaiting a Parker 51 and Parker super 21 in the mail I write with fountain pens on a daily basis now.
I’ve never used a fountain pen but there is a nice Sheaffer Prelude I have my eye on, does anyone have any experience with these it says the Preludes are good beginners pens
@n9inchnails I’ve got one around here somewhere that I carried everywhere when I was still working for a living. It’s a black onyx, gold trim with a fine nib made of stainless steel. Writes very well right out of the box with no break in needed. Light weight, medium grip and uses cartridges and a converter. Great for beginners; nib is smooth and doesn’t skip or jump around on most papers and has a shallow learning curve for newcomers. I use Noodler’s Eel series inks in it when I’m capable of finding the damn thing…Eel has a nice lubricating quality to it and decent drying time. Best $100 I ever spent: http://www.penboutique.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=8328&SEName=sheaffer-prelude-black-lacquer-w-22k-gold-plated-trim-fountain-pen&gclid=CjwKEAjwvPepBRCoqo37teOD1XsSJAC7v6WQsri9AAANZbVBvOzsxLF7hr7Mz9YsNqgDMsBoMuhE4xoCHJTw\_wcB
^ that’s the exact pen I have my eye on 
@n9inchnails: I had a Prelude, but I never really got along with it. In contrast to @chefdaniel’s experience, mine had ink flow problems and was scratchy. I performed ‘surgery’ to correct the ink flow (I had to modify the feed) and corrected what turned out to be misaligned tines, and I got it writing smooth and wet. I still never warmed to the pen though. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t feel that I should have had to have done so much work to a pen in that price range. Just because I can adjust a fountain pen doesn’t mean I’m ok with having to do it to a brand new pen before it will even write. I also had a Sheaffer Award, which is a budget school-type pen, and that wrote great out of the box. That made me feel resentful towards the Prelude, which cost something like 5 times more. I also didn’t like the shape of the section, but that is very much a subjective thing. Another point is the lacquered metal barrel. I believe these to be a manufacturing cop-out, and not as durable as the traditional plastic materials (I include hard rubber in this category). The thing with fountain pens is that you can get a bad one at any price point, so it is probable that @chefdaniel’s experience is more typical, and I just got a bad one. The trick is to try before you buy. I bought mine on the internet, and thus didn’t get a chance to test it first. If you buy online, (any pen) just be sure to check the seller’s return policy in case you don’t get along with the pen. My personal recommendation to anyone considering a first pen is a Parker “51”. You could probably get a user-grade one for the price of a Prelude, and the “51” is a beautifully engineered pen that will probably outlast you.
A Parker 51 is to pens what HDT is to snuff: simple, elegant, and straightforward
Daniel, you are a man after my own heart. I love fountain pens. I do have ideas on inks and pens so if you want I can talk to you via email.
When I was a kid, I don’t think that they trusted us with fountain pens… They made us use cartridge pens for penmanship class. I used a Sheaffer. Do they still have penmanship class in school (teaching you how to hold it, what angle to hold it at, how hard to press, etc.?) We used yellow paper that would absorb the ink if you held the pen in one spot for too long.
@JakartaBoy I looked up the Fountain Pen Network & now i don’t know whether to thank you or curse you! ;)) It has rekindled my love for all things Fountain Pen related and my wallet is now slightly depleted. But seriously, thank you, as I never knew that place existed and I have been lurking there the last few days and it has helped me loads. @chefdaniel , Thanks to you I am looking into learning spencerian script. I knew what copperplate was, but had never delved much into calligraphy & scripts. I am now waiting for a Noodlers ahab flex pen and some interesting inks! Thanks Guys, snuffhouse is awesome! :-bd
@LadySnuff The Ahab is a great flex pen. Let me know how you like yours. Noodler’s inks are amazing. Until I saw theirs I didn’t think I’d like a pink ink, now I have 3. Cheers
I used to dye my muskrat and fox traps in that walnut brew, wearing heavy rubber gloves. On a different note. did you know there used to be 27 letters in the alphabet? It was developed by Roman scribes who wrote in cursive; so when they wrote the Latin word et which means “and” they linked the e and t. Over time the combined letters came to signify the word “and” in English as well. I learned my ABC’s reciting them, it always ends with XY&Z. [&] ampersand was removed and now it just a symbol.
I love walnut ink and use it daily. There’s something old fashioned and rustic about that rich brown walnut color.
walnut ink also will cure warts. It also has other beneficial use; http://wellnessmama.com/257/black-walnut-hull-herb-profile/