Guidance On Getting Started

[AndroiDad75]

Everyone,


I am hoping that you fine gentleman of the NIB can help me. I am interested in dipping my toes in the water, but I am a little hesitant to "pull the trigger". I am hoping that you can give me some guidance on a few things. I apologize ahead of time, as this post may be a bit long.

First off, let me tell you that I have pretty sloppy/down right penmanship, which is contributing to my fear that I may be heading in a direction that may not be very fruitful.

What I am hoping to do is: 1) Pick up a FP and 2) improve my penmanship. I know that these two things are independent of each other - meaning that just because I get a FP doesn't mean that all of a sudden my penmanship gets better. With that in mind, I have done some researching, and I am hoping you can help me narrow some things down, or give me alternatives/better advice.

In regards to fountain pens, I am looking for something that will get my foot in the door, but not break the bank in case this experiment fails. Here is what I have found by doing some searching:

• A Pilot Metropolitan, possible with a CON-50. I found a link to this site, but not sure if they are good to deal with: Goulet

• A Pilot 78G. It looks like I can get one on the bay (don't want to post a link to the bay) for around $10 - $12 shipped and comes with a converter. I am not sure if this pen has anything like the CON-50.

• A little step up seems to be a Sheaffer 100 (coming in at $40) at Goulet as well. I am not sure if I should start at this price point as I am unsure if my penmanship will lend itself to this craft.

• I have seen things like a Lamy as well, but to be honest, that's one I haven't done much digging on yet, so if it should be above the others, please let me know.

• Lastly, I see a lot about the Parker 51 being a good starter pen as well. I have only seen this pen available on the bay. Is that the only place you can get one of these any longer? I thought I read a post that said they can be had under $100, but I haven't seen that on the bay. They seem to start around the $150 range there. Is that the norm now for this pen? If I fall down this rabbit hole, I know I will probably want one, so any advice on where to eventually get one of these?

Next question about pens: Is there a certain NIB that I should start with? Fine? Medium? I am guessing Medium, but I wasn't entirely sure.

Now that we have the writing instrument out of the way, let's talk about penmanship. I have done some researching on this as well. It looks like there are a couple of books out there, Write Now, Fix it Write, or Teach Yourself Better Handwriting. I also found talk about the IAMPETH site. This site looks like it has scans of old handwriting guides as well.

My question to you guys: Are these the best ways to re-learn your penmanship? I know practice is going to be integral, but will these help the best with the formation of "good" letters, etc...? Can you recommend anything else? When you started this, did you buy, or print, any "guide" paper?

I am sure I will have more questions, but this post is already too long, so I will follow-up as we move along.

Thanks

 

[Teppanyaki]

I am ignorant and starting out, but I will say that the Pilot Metro is frequently recommended as a good pen for beginners. I ordered a bunch of stuff from Goulet Pens, and my understanding is that they are highly recommended.

Penmanship - I may literally be the last human being on the planet qualified to give any advice. Unless it's "do the opposite of what I do," in which case I am the Obi-Wan Kenobi of penmanship and calligraphy. Lightsaber lessons after dinner, so don't eat too much cake and pie.

 

[Andy]

The Metropolitan is a great pen. The upgrade to a CON-50 is well worth it (IMO)

Also the Pilot 78G is a fantastic pen, they also come with a squeeze filler, so an upgrade to the Con-50 would be advisable if you don't wish to go the cartridge route.

Anything by TWSBI is great, as is the Lamy Safari.

Nib size is a matter of taste. If you naturally write small, go for the smaller nibs, as generally broader ones will cause your writing to close together.

Palmer's method of business writing is a great resource, but with any, you must keep the lessons up for a while in order to see any benefit.

 

[strop]

The Goulets are great people to deal with. You can't go wrong there. The Metropolitan will be a heavier pen than the 78g, and for the cost of the latter, just get both. Pilot is a Japanese company, so the nibs will be narrower than western nibs. A pilot M will be closer to a western F. The 78g B nib is actually a stub nib and will immediately give your writing a bit of flair. I've never used a Lamy, but my son swears by them. The 51s are great pens, but avoid a blind buy on the bay until you have a little more experience with pens.

You are correct in that a FP won't automatically make your writing better, but there are some things about using a FP that will make that process easier. A FP requires no downward pressure. Writing with a ballpoint requires you to push down, which eventually leads to tense muscles and fatigue, aka writer's cramp. This leads to sloppier writing just by itself. Keep your wrist relaxed but still, and move from the shoulder. Write the the big muscles rather than the little muscles of the hand. Slow down. Amazing what this will do for your writing. I really think you'll be surprised at how quickly it all comes back when you sit down and practice a little bit

 

[AndroiDad75]

OK, thanks for the info guys.

So did you actually print/buy guide paper as well to learn how to write better? Or can it be done with regular lined paper?

Thanks for the info on the nibs as well. That is helpful, as I wouldn't have know that a medium was closer to a western fine.

How about the books, are they worth it to purchase something like those? Or do I just stick with the IAMPETH site?

Strop, no worries on the blind buy. I am so far away from something like that, it isn't even in my thought process right now. So does that mean the bay is about the only place to find a parker 51 now?

 

[archi77]

Greetings from Michigan! (Temporarily, visiting family for the holidays)

First off, Goulet Oens is a fantastic company to work with. They have very competitive prices and good stock, and stand behind everything the sell... If you have a problem with something, or simply decide you don't like it (within reasonable times, of course...), they will do whatever they can to rectify the situation. While I have ordered from other companies with good results, Goulet gets a good 95% of my business.

I highly recommend the Metropolitan with the converter. The pen was my first (and third, fourth, and fifth) pens! It writes great out of the box, takes every ink I've tried in it, is sturdy and robust to withstand my everyday abuses, and at a price point I'm not afraid to take it with me everywhere. The converter allows you a nearly limitless color selection of inks, whereas cartridges are very limited. Some are ok with that, but I prefer to select my inks based on what I am using the pen for.

As for penmanship... I was in a similar boat. But I have noticed that when I use a FP, I write slower, which greatly improves my penmanship. There are times, when I'm not thinking of it, that my writing deteriorates, but for the most part, just using the FP helps me. Plus, I enjoy using the FP so much, I write a lot more...which helps, too.

Good luck!

 

[AndroiDad75]

archi77,

Thanks for the info - especially about the penmanship part. It's part of the equation that concerns me the most.

 

[syngent]

Rob, If you want to improve your handwriting I would suggest a lined or grid notebook, just to have the lines help guide you as you reshape your letters and words,... trying to do that and keep things straight on a blank page all at once can be a bit much

Have a look at palmermethod.com and iampeth.com they have lots of excersizes you can use to help get better with some guidance with lessons

glad to have you in the nib, if you have any other questions please feel free to ask

 

[AndroiDad75]

Thanks James.

How about a decent ink to start with? Should I get a sample pack, or just pick up a bottle of one color to start?

I think I am going to get the Metropolitan, and maybe the 78g, to start with. It seems like an inexpensive way to dip my toes in.

I am still interested in eventually moving up to a Parker 51, but maybe I need to just take it slow and see how it goes.

 

[Rockminer]

If you're going to get a metro and a 78G, I would recommend you get something besides a medium nib in the 78. The metro and 78g are completely interchangeable. Meaning if you went with a fine nib in the 78, for example, all you would have to do to swap it with the metro is unscrew the metal barrel and place it on the section of the 78. Switch the caps and you're in business.

Ink samples from Goulet are cheap and a great way to experience different colors. Picking up a set of syringes will aid you in getting every last drop out of a sample vial.

http://www.gouletpens.com/Goulet_5ml_Ink_Syringe_Set_p/gpc-inksyringe.htm

 

[archi77]

I'd suggest getting a few samples of ink to start with... that way, you can see what colors you like, which inks flow good through your pen, etc. That said, it's probably a safe bet to buy a bottle of something like Noodler's Black, too... if there's a color you just know you will use a lot, then it might be worth just buying a bottle.

 

[syngent]

Ink is pretty much ink from most of the makers,.. Id look at the sample packs just to see what colours you like and what you like in an ink. Like anything else what I will favour may not be what someone else does. So by picking up samples you can come to find what you do and do not like in an ink, also if your on goulets sight grab a syringe kit from them it allows you to fill small amounts of inks that you cant suck up through the nib, they are only a couple of bucks and incredibly helpful specially when playing with samples as you can just suck up a small amount of ink at the bottom of the sample tube, and inject it right into the converter itself, you just have to wait for the feed of the pen to fill from behind (Or prime as we call it) since your not sucking ink up through the feed to fill

 

[Bob L.]

I'll make a stab at answering your Parker 51 question.

1) Yes, this is a great pen. I have a Parker 51 with a medium stub in my pocket as I type.

2) No, you do not have to drop a hundred plus dollars for a Parker 51. I have found three 51s in the wild. One worked well after a thorough cleaning. Two required moderate repair work. Each of the three was purchased at $5 to $10. I put less than $60 into the two repaired Parker 51s. Most of this was for a medium stub nib.

3) You might also come across a Parker 21. It is the less expensive hooded Parker pen. I found one of the these and it just needed a good cleaning.

Hunting these pens out is almost as much fun as using them.

4) IMHO don't spend serious money on a pen until you know the characteristics your prospective pen should have.

 

[badgerstate]

I have bad handwriting in not one but THREE different scripts, English, Persian-Urdu and Hindi-Devanagri.What's important for me is that I enjoy the act of writing. As I write along getting less and less legible I will pause and tell myself to slow down, think about what you're doing, etc and it gets better, for a while. With a fountain pen your writing will get better even if not beautiful. You should connect with paper, pen and ink. As long as you enjoy the process that is reward enough. At least that's how I see it. Best of Luck in the New Year

 

[AndroiDad75]

Thanks everyone on the ink suggestions.

Hunting these pens out is almost as much fun as using them.

4) IMHO don't spend serious money on a pen until you know the characteristics your prospective pen should have.

I bet hunting them down is fun and I don't plan on spending much until I know I have the aptitude for this. You guys don't understand my penmanship

With a fountain pen your writing will get better even if not beautiful. You should connect with paper, pen and ink. As long as you enjoy the process that is reward enough. At least that's how I see it. Best of Luck in the New Year

Thanks, that's some good info.

 

[AndroiDad75]

I have another question guys.

Is there a way to carry my new FP, to minimize the chance of having ink leak into my shirt. I'm assuming NIB up. But is there anything else I can do to minimize ruining dress shirts, etc...?

 

[oc_in_fw]

I have another question guys.

Is there a way to carry my new FP, to minimize the chance of having ink leak into my shirt. I'm assuming NIB up. But is there anything else I can do to minimize ruining dress shirts, etc...?

most clips are going to keep the nib up in the pocket. I have never had a leak, but if you are worried get a pocket protector and cut off the part that sticks out of the pocket. I did that for a while.

 

[DevinLT1966]

Hi Rob,
Ok well I'm a little late to the game here but… I would second everything everyone else has said. The Metro is a great pen. It was my first "new" pen and I find myself comparing to that as a standard.

Ink samples are defiantly the way to go. Just be careful in a few short months I have acquired what seems like a lifetime supply of ink.

As far as other supplies, get the syringe with the blunt tip needle and also get the bulb syringe. It really helps in cleaning the nib. Goulet has a video that explains how to do it. I also recommend something to hold all of the samples.

Enjoy.

 

[AndroiDad75]

most clips are going to keep the nib up in the pocket. I have never had a leak, but if you are worried get a pocket protector and cut off the part that sticks out of the pocket. I did that for a while.

I figured just keeping the NIB up would be probably enough, but wasn't sure. I sure didn't want one of those white, over-the-pocket, pocket protectors. Good idea about cutting it off, if need be.

We'll see how it goes before I go down that road.

I will probably pick up a notebook at Staples tomorrow, in preparation of getting a pen.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I figured just keeping the NIB up would be probably enough, but wasn't sure. I sure didn't want one of those white, over-the-pocket, pocket protectors. Good idea about cutting it off, if need be.

We'll see how it goes before I go down that road.

I will probably pick up a notebook at Staples tomorrow, in preparation of getting a pen.

If I had to buy my own work shirts, I would probably use a cut off protector more often.